The Black Mastiff
by Sircot
Summary: After being dumped by Kim- explained in the story- Ron hides in Japan. Five years later, he's back in America with an interesting job and some frightening new powers. However, is he still the same boy who left? Rated M for severe violence and language.
1. Enter the Mastiff

A/N: Sorry guys this is the real Chapter 1. I had some problems with WordPad to Word/laptop to desktop movement. I always type on my laptop, but the driver for the wireless connection isn't working anymore. I think I fixed all of this, so please read it. Yay for random stupidity. Chap 6 is in the editing revising phase but I have an English paper to write so I'm not sure when I'll get that out. Also, thank god for snowdays.

Thank you for bearing with me through this. I know how tough that can be. Personally I find it hard to read incomplete stories. This Chap is basically character development. We see a new darker Ron. A bit of farfetched stuff here, but hey, peotic license.

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He woke up alone and screaming, his harsh voice a brittle barrier against the pain and suffering of his dreams. Not for the first time Ron Stoppable cursed his "Mystical Monkey Power," the 'gift' that even now, prevented him from blissful oblivion. He was exhausted.

Ron had no intention of trying to return to sleep. He needed to get up in the morning, and a dose of sleeping pills adequate to down him and leave him incapable of motion for at least three hours after he would need to get up and that was out of the question. Sighing, he got out of bed and started to train.

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At nine in the morning a disgruntled and obviously testy Ron walked through the doors to the coffee place down the street from his house. He promptly ordered an 'antifreeze bucket,' a nonexistent drink if ever he'd heard of one. He then went into the small employee meeting room, without waiting for an answer, and sat at the one chair that would send him tunneling into the newest headquarters for the team.

He growled at the thought. _Team? More like me, and maybe the saps that volunteered or were told to help me dispense my form of the U.N.'s Justice. GJ has nothing on the five of them, but I can only hope that someday, someone has the balls and the talent to put a bullet in between my eyes. If only I'd never made that god-damned promise._

He sat at his desk with a sigh and reluctantly queried, "Assignment?"

Almost immediately a small yet imposing black box appeared on his desk. It, he knew, would contain the details of the filth he was to… cleanse. He liked that euphemism. He knew that he had the blood of innocents on his hands as well, but if he was killing the people that had torn apart his world, all was right. All was not good, but all could still be useful. He still had purpose, and with purpose, he could survive.

He amended in his proclamation to himself slightly. He could never kill all the people who'd destroyed his world, ruined his life. He could never even hurt Kim, let alone kill her. Anything he did, he did under an assumed name, in disguise, and in a way that no one could track it back to him for the simple reason that if she knew half of the things he had done she'd probably never recover. He would never hurt her. Never again. Not after the last time.

He still held her as one of his friends, and more importantly to him, as the one and only woman he would ever love. He still managed to keep in touch, even if they hadn't seen each other in at least a year. And even if she was employed by the single largest organization to ever hunt him. He could never hold that against her. He loved that GJ had finally had the chance to recruit Kim. It had and did make her happy.

The biggest reason that he hated GJ at the moment was that it had managed to appoint Kim as head of the Black Mastiff investigation. The Black Mastiff investigation, the investigation that GJ had initiated as a counter-measure to his success. They knew that he was effective, and that, more than anything he had ever done, including some very graphic assassinations and one CD left on Betty Director's bed while she showered after an extremely embarrassing attempt, initiated by them, to take his life (He'd placed the personnel files, as well as pictures taken through the scope of his rifle of each and every operative that had gone on the operation. This disk also had a document that listed every password and code that the organization had ever used and a threat, written directly to her, saying that if she ever made him take the life of a GJ operative, she'd be found guilty of high treason in every country in which she was registered as a citizen under a false name. He'd also left her with the assurance that none of them would be able to do anything to properly punish her after he was done with her), was what scared them. Well, that and the fact that he'd broken into at least 5 GJ compounds without leaving any trace other than his calling card, a porcelain model of a dog, specifically the Grimm, with very wild and untamable features.

He doubted that the unimaginative fools at GJ had pieced together the Harry Potter reference yet. He knew for a fact that Kim wouldn't. He'd had to drag her to the first two movies, and she absolutely refused to let him take her to any more of them. He laughed. For the first time ever, she would be better off in one of her 'missions' if she'd paid attention to what Ron said or did. His laugh choked off violently as he remembered that she didn't see him as even worth considering. He'd hacked into the investigation recently to check up on them and had seen a suggestion that he be hired as a consultant to his own case. The part that hurt was that she had replied with the assurance that Ron couldn't help them. She'd said that he was too clueless to provide help. Her dismissal itself was painful, but the flippant and off-hand manner of the memo was like a knife through his heart.

Startled from his ruminations by a voice from the observation deck telling him to report to the ops center after he had his target, Ron opened his new assignment. He hit the sequence that would disarm every bomb inside the box, then hit the depression on the top of it, re-arming them all and opening the holo-file. Michael Yamikovich, a Russian who could have made Stalin wince with his mere appearance, was a horrible excuse for a human, one that funded and on occasion participated in the rape of girls he'd had kidnapped from their homes, the streets, or anywhere else that someone could use chloroform inconspicuously. Ron held no sympathy in his mind for this filth, this rapist. He would kill the man and call the tips line at GJ to let them know about the girls. He walked to the blue scooter that at one point would have trouble doing ten miles per hour, and after carefully leaving his 'garage' brought it up to speed. He was doing 750 mph and was airborne before he'd cleared the street he lived on.

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Two and a half hours later, Ron jumped off of his scooter into the crisp and cool air of a morning several hundred miles above an Atlantic oil rig. He used his MMP to stop one foot off of the ground, as well as to stop any electronic device to pick him up. Killing any guard he saw was satisfying, even if it did make him wonder how bad his skills were getting. He should have been able to kill most if not all of them without them being able to see him and without being able to see them. He hadn't ricocheted a single throwing knife yet. He let out a sigh as he realized that he was in front of his target's office and that his 'fun' was almost over. He kicked to door off of its hinges and allowed it to land just short of the target. He walked into the room, seemingly calm and at ease, and sat at the desk of this monster. He said simply, "Do you have any reason that I should not kill you here today? Can you explain your actions?" As soon as he heard the expected, "Yes- Ron killed the target with a well placed foot to the bridge of his nose. He stated simply, "Wrong answer," before walking back into the hallway he'd only recently vacated.

Ron knew something was wrong the moment he set foot upon the deck of the rig. He tensed as the voice he knew, her voice, rang out soft and clear, commanding, "Stand down. You are under arrest for crimes against the world. If you do not fight we will not hurt you." He silently thanked any and all observing deities that he'd slipped into his full body 'ninja suit.' It wasn't truly traditional and had none of the correct folds and overlaps, but he found that his inspired even more fear than the traditional garb, not to mention that it didn't expose any skin.

"Ah, yes, the great Kim Possible. Or should I say: Agent Possible. As beautiful as I'd imagined, but then, the pictures I have of you probably helped. You do realize though that if any one in your group can even stand a chance against me, it is you. The rest of your group can only get themselves killed fighting me and I know that you will go to almost any length to prevent death. Let us have a one-on-one match then. If you win a bought by the rules of tournament fighting, I will go willingly with you, though I do know your promise not to hurt me is unrealistic. However, should I best you, I shall go on my merry way without having to worry whether or not I seriously injured one of your comrades. You I trust, will stay away from true harm during our fight?"

Ron felt his mouth turn up slightly at the corners as he watched grudging respect fight its way into her eyes. His smile only grew as she growled lowly and said, "Fine." One of her officers started to protest and so I threw knives at each and every one of them laughing as each stopped at the throat of its target. One I noticed had not found a throat. Kim had caught the dagger meant to warn her. "See what he is capable of? Only I have a chance to beat that thing, that man. You would just get in the way."

"A sentiment I share, Kim. How could you fight for this kind of filth? How can you hate me for killing these, the most despicable of all criminals? Are you afraid of me? Why should you be? Do you rape, murder, or do anything else immoral? Of course not! You're the great Kim Possible!" He hoped she didn't notice that he'd copied the argument from a letter from Shego, where she had tried to convince Kim to go to greater lengths to capture criminals.

"How dare you spy on me! What gives you the right? Can't I have a personal life? Please, just leave them out of this. I stopped them from foghting so they would be able to live in peace." He knew from the look in her eyes how angry she was, how hurt she was, and that she was telling the truth. He understood that she wasn't only talking about Drew and Sheila, but of him. He also knew from the pain in his heart that if he continued to talk that he would reveal his identity if they talked for much longer. He couldn't resist the comforting look and the simple statement, "He knows, if that's any consolation. He knows why you did what you did. And he doesn't blame you."

If anything, this hated enemy talking to her in this soft tone only served to infuriate her more. Later, as she looked back on the battle, she determined that she'd been played.

She ran forward, fist ready to deliver a blow and foot ready to be the distraction. She never expected that both blows would hit. She expected even less that he wouldn't even flinch. She'd never even entertained the thought that she would connect with both hits, he wouldn't flinch, and he would counter only by jumping fifteen feet into the air and landing on top of a pole on top of the rig. She gaped. He'd taken two of her best hits without so much as batting an eye and had then performed an impossible leap to an impossible landing. She was barely standing with the shock coursing through her, and his only response was, "If that is the best you can do, we are done here. Forgive me for wasting your time. I thought that I had finally found a match of my skill. I was wrong. Goodbye."

Before Kim even contemplated movement, he was gone. Somehow, he'd managed to float directly up. The task force sent to retrieve him didn't even see Sasha as he landed on her. He knew that he shouldn't talk to Kim for a bit. That he should let her suspicions die before he brought himself back into a major role in her life. But he wondered. If she was remorseful for that, could he have been wrong? Could he have been doing these things for no reason?

Shaking his head violently he jumped. Sasha caught him before his powers even activated, but the air still helped him to think. He'd have to tell the kids to make her wait before catching him. He needed the diving practice.

As his mind drifted painfully back to her words, he wondered. If she was telling the truth… No! She couldn't be. He couldn't have been that successfully deceived by anyone. He couldn't have been living a lie. It wasn't possible.

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Ron flew at near the speed of sound through the air, stopping only at his own personal place. The spot in the air where he had found a weakness between this world and the fabric of time. While there he could see into three places, though their time would not progress, he could practice and hone his abilities, and he could think. He was currently engaged in this third activity.

He missed Kim more than he would admit. She had been the center of his world for the first 19 and a half years of his life. How could he forget her barely 5 years later? How could she have forgotten him? Regardless, after she cut him from her love life and missions all those years ago, he'd become a different person. The only thing he'd ever truly hated her for was when she'd cut her ties to him. She was brutal. She transferred out of every class they shared (Though the number of shared classes had dropped steadily before hand) and told him they couldn't see each other anymore before he'd been discharged from the hospital. Exactly 23 minutes after she'd left, Kim Possible's ex-sidekick had been found unconscious and nearly dead in his hospital room. He'd tried to commit suicide. No one ever found out how, but he had managed to punch through the wall, grab several rusted nails out of the framework, and pound them through his arm. Exactly 38 minutes after crushing his soul, Kim was once again in the building. She had to wait while they fixed up the arm, then "evaluated him psychologically." Once he was allowed to have visitors she went into the room and chewed him out. She'd all but forced him to promise: "I will never again do anything consciously to kill myself or cause myself to be killed." As soon as he'd said that phrase, she'd hugged him and told him that he was never to scare her like that again. She'd left again soon. He'd left the country the next day. God, it hurt to remember.

He summoned the Lotus Blade out of its scabbard and turned it into himself. Soon, the battle was joined.

Ron jumped as the blade did a leg sweep, then got caught by a foot to his chest. He landed on his feet and punched the blade in its 'face.' They traded blows, each capable of breaking a brick, and continued to take beatings from each other until it was hard for Ron to stand. Signaling the blade that the bout was over, he bowed. He caught the caught the blade's foot mid kick and reverted it into its true form.

He looked in on the three places his little training area gave him sight into and realized his phone was ringing in real time. He jumped out of his 'home away from home' and quickly sped downward and to the north. After he landed he picked up the phone, slightly disappointed that it was not ringing anymore, and pressed *69, or redial. His phone would not show up on any caller ID, ever. He'd explained it away as a perk of knowing Wade. He'd said that he was testing out some functions for Wade. It was kind of true, in a way. Wade was one of the saps working for him, as well as his second in command. He would even lie to Kim if he had to. He would lie to Kim if he was asked to. Hell, if he thought it would help Ron, he'd lie to Kim extensively. Ron reminded himself to talk to him about his fanaticism. They didn't really need another Ron. "Damn it," he cursed. He'd realized that the other two volunteers acted almost exactly like Wade did. He'd have to do something to compromise them so that they couldn't get themselves hurt, but realized yet again that he'd need to keep Wade. He'd couldn't get his revenge without Wade. The voice on the other end of the phone startled him out of his ruminations.

"Hello?" He inhaled deeply at her voice. "Hello? If this is a joke it's not funny. I'm serious! If you don't talk right now, I'll-"

"Sorry, KP. Guess I was just daydreaming. You know how I am."

"Ron?" He shuddered as her voice sounded timid, almost afraid. "I tried calling you earlier… I just wanted to talk… You know, like old times."

"I should have known," he said to himself. To her he said, "I kinda figured you called me KP. I mean gees. You shoulda known that with all the tech Wade set up that I'd call you back as soon as I could. Have a little faith Kim. You thought I wouldn't?"

"No! No, I was just rambling. It's been a tough day, y'know? I was just kinda wondering, uh, do you, uh, wanna like, go out and do something?" This last was said faster than an eye could blink, which his did, several times.

"Um, yeah, sure. Lemme just get dressed. I'll be at your place in say 15?" He had been surprised by her tone. That tone had been heard often enough before. That tone had a name. He and the Doctors Possible had named it shortly after it had first reared its ugly little head. It was impossible. She couldn't be crushing on him, could she? Was he about to enter the halls Mankey and Eric had pioneered and make Kim into a gibbering idiot? "Oh, God, I hope not," he thought. Sighing he called Mrs. Dr. P. prepared to ask for her help. How could he deal with this?

.  
He appeared outside of Kim's door thirteen minutes later, latest release in hand. He knew she'd been wanting to see it, but that she hadn't had the time to go to the theaters. He already had a copy of it. Being a culinary genius and inventor of several food items for fast food places had really lined his pockets.

She opened the door, and smiled at him. She looked, well, nervous. "So, I brought a movie in case we wanna stay home, or we could go somewhere. Up to you."

He watched her mock consideration with a wide grin. He already knew that she'd jump at the first offer. She did as expected and invited him inside. After a quick tour, they arrived at a kitchen. It seemed that no one had ever been into that room. He even noticed that she seemed to have a fear of entrance. He laughed. "Afraid of your kitchen, KP?"

She scowled. "Don't make fun of me. Or do I need to bring up 'Ronny's Big Day?'"

"No, Mam, you don't. Would you consider an apology if I promised to make dinner?"

"Seven layer's of Heaven?"

"Seven layer's of Heaven." He loved this verbal jousting. She truly was a worthy opponent.

"Apology accepted, get to cooking." He chuckled. She never could resist his 'seven layers of Heaven'.

She knew she was being brusque but honestly, she couldn't help it. She loved his seven layers of heaven. The only thing she'd ever wanted more was completely unattainable. His heart. "Ron? Why aren't you cooking yet?"

Ron chuckled again. "I am sorry, Mistress, but I haven't found the ingredients, yet." Kim growled in frustration.

"What do you need?"

His answer, given only after she'd entered the one place in her house that she feared to tread, was, "Oh, I've got everything I need." He ducked the punch Kim threw his way then caught her wrist. "Well now, kill the cook. Not quite the saying but I do say never be normal."

Kim laughed. However, when she tried to pull her arm away she felt as if she was trying to snap concrete in one hand. She pouted. "Since when can you maintain a grip like that?" she groused.

"For about five years. I took a trip to Japan and ended up training with a local dojo. Not that you'd be expected to remember." To Kim, Ron's tone was like a knife and his cold indifference a flame both sent spearing through her heart. She collapsed, crying. He let go of her wrist and went back to cooking, not even deeming her worth a second glance.

When the cake was done, Kim was still crying on the floor of her kitchen, and Ron was still pointedly ignoring her. He set the cake on her table and went to lay on her couch. He knew he wouldn't sleep (damned powers,) but he would not be talking to her for the rest of the night so pretending to sleep seemed the best option. He calmed down when he heard the crying peter out, and, against all prior experience, he fell asleep.

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Ron woke up, surprised to see that he was in Kim's house. He couldn't have taken that many pills here, could he have? Slowly, he crept to the bathroom and relieved himself. He then searched the house. He was surprised when he found that no sleeping pills were anywhere he would have hidden them. Puzzled, he searched the entire house. He skipped over Kim's room, not wanting to disturb her. Finally, only the kitchen was left to his scouring eye. Though he heard faint noises from within, he opened the door, not overly concerned with Kim's privacy if she had indeed drugged him. His mind evaporated at the sight of the scared girl lying on the floor in front of him. Her shoulders were still heaving, and she was lying in a small puddle of her own tears. His heart nearly broke at the broken sound of one of her more audible sobs, and he felt himself reaching down to comfort her. He stopped himself as he remembered the previous night. He realized that he had broken his promise. He'd hurt the woman he loved. Quickly and quietly, he set up a breakfast and left, holding back his own sobs with sheer force of will.

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Kim awoke from her slumber sat up. She quickly thanked God for making sure Ron didn't see her like that, weak and vulnerable, and cleaned up. After the entire kitchen was clean she happened to go through her dining room. Her heart stopped as she saw the seven layer's in a cake box and the gourmet breakfast. She ran through her house, cursing herself for its size. Finally, after proving to her mind that he was not there, Kim broke down, once again, crying into her sheets.

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Ron called and gave his 'boys' the day off. He said he had some unfinished business to take care of. He did.

Half an hour later, Ron arrived at a nice and large villa in Washington D.C. He, dressed as an upper crust gent named Louie Manettoui, rang the bell. His hands hung calmly in the air by his waist as he waited. When the door finally opened, Ron was ready. He calmly followed the butler, requesting an audience with 'His Lordship," As expected it was granted.

Kim slept till almost noon, her tears soaking her bed as they had soaked the floor. "Why?" she thought at herself, "Why did I have to bring that up? Now Ron hates me even more. He'll probably never talk to me again." Kim slowly shook, tears flowing forth from her bloodshot eyes. Soon she started repeating one word to herself, over and over: "Why?"

15 miles away from Kim, Ron was busy plugging in a fiber optic wire into a camera in the hallway. Soon, the footage showed a meeting between the house's master and Louie. He'd recycled the footage but he doubted anyone would notice. Soon, the butler was gone and he could start with his revenge.

A/N: Sorry about the problems with this chapter. Done with chap 5 and only just got this posted. *sigh. I just wanted to say that I think this chap was a good one, not just because of the time I spent on it, but because it really hits a heartstring with me. Ron in this chapter, (the beginning,) really reminded me of my uncle. He died a little over two years ago from liver failure. The characters were just so similar in how they act though, that this is going to be dedicated to him. I hope you're having fun Tom.

Thank you again to CajunBear73 for help in this matter, as well as your suggestions. I do have to say that this writing style (interspersed scenes only mildly divided,) while not in any way usual for my writing, is an extremely fun project. I usually work using a narrative, with thoughts intermixed. This is better, though, I think for the story.

Longest chap so far. They seem to be in descending length.


	2. The Hero's Past

Both Kim and Ron simultaneously launched themselves into a dreamlike state. Luckily, it only lasted about a minute and a half.

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Ron was playing Everlot with Rufus as Kim entered his hospital room. He looked up pleadingly, as if he knew something was wrong. He faintly saw traces of memories surrounding Kim. He suddenly knew that these were her memories. The ones that had been in her mind that day. He saw a man. He saw a man beat her. The man told her that if she ever tried to interfere with his business again, he'd bomb Middleton. As an afterthought he added, "Oh, and disband the team. I wouldn't want to have to kill such a promising young cook." She'd protested, and he'd slapped her. "If you don't break up with Ron Stoppable in a way that leaves no uncertainty to your utter disdain of him, I will kill him, slowly and painfully, while you are forced to watch. Comprende?" "Yes, sir." The pain on Kim's face was unbearable, but the heartbreak and resignation were what was shredding Ron. He ran forward to embrace Kim and…

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Kim stood outside their door for the longest minute of her life. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes again, hoping beyond hope that she would be able to do this. Bracing herself, she raised her hand to open the door then lowered cycle continued for a long while. Eventually, though, Kim finally found the courage to confront and break up with her boyfriend."It's for his own good. I'm doing this for him. This is for Ron; I can do this for Ron." She opened the door quickly, with a movement that could easily be mistaken for a muscle gasped as she realized he wasn't here. "Dammit Ron, where'd you go? Ron?" She entered their house and searched it room by room. She cursed her luck. "Dammit! I can't protect him. I hurt him. I can't even break up with him right. Dammit." She collapsed onto her bed, crying.

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Kim woke to the ringing of the phone. "Huh? Oh, I'll get it, hun." She realized Ron wasn't with her shortly after she answered the phone. "Kim Possible's home, how can I help you?"

She was startled out of bed when Ron's voice answered her. "Kim? It's me. Um, I kinda need a ride home. I'm in the hospital. I don't really remember much. The doctors tell me I have some sort of partial amnesia. I remember that we've been friends for forever though, and they say that you help people so, um, yeah. Can you give me a ride. You don't have to. I can find someone else to help me."

"Ron, Ron, you're rambling. Of course I'll help. I'll be there soon. Bye." Kim hung up the phone. Then she remembered the previous day. She realized that this was a godsend. Picking the phone back up, she dialed Josh's number. "Hi, Josh. This is Kim. You wanna go on a date?"

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Half an hour later, Kim found herself outside of Ron's hospital room, mirroring her position of the previous day. This time was different, however. For one, she was standing in front of an unfamiliar door in a hospital. And this time she was not alone: Josh Mankey stood next to her. "I knew you'd wise up and dump that loser eventually. I just knew it."

She opened the door and walked in. Josh hung back. She walked up to Ron and before her resolve could weaken said, "Ron, we need to talk. I don't think this is working out. I just need something else. I've decided to go out with Josh Mankey." She held up a hand to his protests. "I know this is unexpected. I understand that this is a shock, but there is no way for us to work through this. I'm sorry Ron, but this is the way it has to be. I'll get my stuff next week. Bye, Ron."

.  
Ron was confused. He had no idea who he was and he'd just been dumped. Kim wanted to go out with some Josh guy. He didn't even know why, but he felt as if his world was over. As his memories began to return, he started to cry.

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The Kim being forced to relive the scene in her dreams almost didn't see the gold-tinged blue mist surrounding Ron. When she did notice it, it only made her tears fall faster. It was a slideshow of every time she'd ever done anything bad to him and every time he'd risked himself to save her mixed up into one. Several scenes were new to her. Only one scene had never been described.

Kim saw as if through a TV screen what had happened before she had dumped Ron so unmercifully. They had gained access to yet another villainous lair. Kim had gone to subdue the heavy hitter in the base, a new villain. He noticed she was lagging behind so he crept out of his spot to see what was going on. Soon he was engaged in combat.

.  
He ducked an incoming fist, grabbed the fist's owner and hurled him into a wall. He dropped low and kicked out. A moment later he jumped up after hearing a sickening snap. He landed on top of one of his taller opponents and kicked two more of his foes as he dropped down behind him. He stopped suddenly as he heard Kim's voice and instantly turned to find its source. He didn't even blink as three of the beefy hired goons barreled into him then fell to the floor, and continued searching for the source of his beloved's voice. He soon noticed a plasma screen that showed her engaged with a formidable man. Both Ron and the Kim observing Ron shuddered. Ron shouted, "Kim! No you bastards! Kim, I'll help you!" Luckily for the observers, no audio was available. Unluckily, they had no way of preventing him from accessing his powers. The men in the room with Ron gasped and ran as Ron started glowing blue and floating. They broke into a full sprint when the lotus blade appeared in his hand. They never had a chance. Ron morphed the blade into one with a hand and a half hilt, a dual blade of four and a half feet, and a width of eight inches. Most other swords would have broken on the first stroke. The lotus blade was an average sword. He dropped to the ground and stabbed one of the fleeing observants. He proceeded to crush, slash and stab all of the men who had been fighting him, save one. This one he grabbed and jumped with. In the air, their descent ceased. He growled at his quarry. "Where is she?" His quarry whimpered. Ron squeezed. "I said, 'Where is she?' Now answer." He squeezed harder.

"She's with the boss. Now please, please, let me go."

The grin Ron gave the man would have sent a glacier running uphill in fear. "As you wish." The man fell three stories, landed on his head, and died instantly. Ron took off in a bright blue blur.

Across the compound, in the room where the man had just told Kim to go straight home, a wall exploded. Ron walked calmly through the rubble. He gripped the lotus blade tightly and stared daggers at the man in the room. "Where is she?" The man backed up.

"No. It's impossible. You couldn't have killed them all. Not that quickly. No."

Ron smiled. "Where is she?"

"I let her go. She's probably at your house by now."

Ron smiled at this man. He smiled that disturbing smile. He talked as if to one of his oldest friends, his message given in a lighthearted tone. He said, "Well my friend. That was probably the second stupidest thing you could have done. You see Kim is my anchor; she makes sure that I don't go overboard. She 'reins me in,' if you will. Yes, you really did make a mistake." Ron walked forward slowly, allowing the lotus blade to turn back into its basic katana form. "You know, I really don't like your smile. It reminds me of other smiles I don't like. You remind me of Shego, and Dr. D. That's not a good thing, well not for you." The man, who had been slowly backing off, grabbed a sub machine gun, firing off a burst at Ron. Ron caught the bullets, all of them, on the flat of the lotus blade. Burst after burst was fired and burst after burst landed on the flat of his blade. Finally the gun was out of ammo.

"No. No. It's not possible. What are you. You're a freak. Get away from me, freak!" Ron grinned ear to ear.

"I may be a freak, but I am the freak whose girlfriend you just beat. Bet you wish she was here right now, don't you? Well I am sorry about this but you lose." Here he slid the katana through the length of the barrel, slicing it in half. He laughed. "You lose" He stabbed his prey in the left leg. "You lose." The right leg. "You lose." Right arm. "You lose." Left arm. "Any last words?" Another whimper. "I'll take that as a no." Ron grinned wildly and cut his victim's head from his shoulders. "You lose."

Ron stepped away from the corpse of Team Possible's would be enemy and let his smile drop. Floating up into the air he observed the blood soaked compound. He laughed, a high shrill laugh that would have chilled the blood of anyone nearby and did chill the blood of one young redhead. His laugh ended and a pulse of blue left his body. The pulse erased all the blood from the grounds. Another pulse incinerated the bodies. One more pulse turned the compound of sixteen buildings into a grassy hill. One last pulse emanated from Ron. This one, however, did nothing. Ron fell from the sky, his MMP depleted. He was correctly colored- brown eyes, pale skin- and was completely unconscious. He hit the ground and left a small crater in his creation.

.  
Kim Possible awoke from her vision. Her mind clouded as it was, had already categorized it as such. She could never have invented a story like that one. What had she driven him to do? It was all her fault. All of it. For the third time that day, Kim collapsed, crying.

.  
Ron woke from his little blackout. He thought back to what he had learned. If he'd known then that... No. He had found long ago that If was a poisonous word. If he went down that road, he would waste away. Nothing could show him what would have happened. He knew that knowing would be torture to his mind anyway. Forcing such thoughts to the back of his conscious mind, Ron returned his thoughts to the task at hand.

.  
Lord Manneitze was a slightly rotund man whose expanding waistline and plain features only helped him to avoid scrutiny in the cutthroat land of Congress. His mind was sharper than he let on, however. He managed his supporters easily, taking heed of the public's opinion. Somehow, he always seemed to come out on top. Ron knew that this had more to do with illegal means than actual political prowess. "My lord."

Manneitze, turning, finally came to the realization that the man who was sitting in his chair was not someone he knew, let alone the man who had picked up his illegal acquisitions for the better part of a year. "And who, may I ask, are you?"

Ron laughed. "You're smarter than most, sir. Too bad you have to die. You could have been trained to be a very powerful man."

Manneitze sputtered. "I am powerful. And what do you mean I have to die?"

"Poor, poor man. You still don't realize that your fate was sealed on the evening of September 22, 2002. Or have you forgotten that night. Let me refresh your memory. At four in the afternoon, you contacted a man known to the world as 'The Viper.' At four o' five, you gave him the instructions he needed in order to break into a specific vault. At four ten he attempted to kill Kimberly Anne Possible. At six thirty two, I incinerated anything that was left of him. You won't share his fate, though. I am going to install a T.V. in your stomach and have it play a loop of incriminating footage. Any last words?" The "man" before Ron whimpered. "You lose."

.  
The police responded quickly to the report of a murder at a Senator's house. They didn't realize quite what had happened before hand. When they finally managed to stop retching at the sight of the corpse they found every electronic in the house (other than the T.V.) shorted. Then they realized that all the security footage was blanked. Then they found the note. Soon after the evidence the note described was collected, 13 other high ranking government officials were arrested, including one Louie Manettoui. Every officer on the original dispatch was given a psychiatric evaluation and two weeks paid vacation for "mental health." Ron felt sorry for the anguish he had caused these men and women. He did not feel sorry for committing the murder.

.  
Kim Possible was called at her home by one of her subordinates. "Mam, is that you?"

"No, this is the tooth fairy. Who else is gonna answer my personal phone?"

"I'm sorry, mam. I called to let you know that this bastard is fucking with us. He killed a senator."

"What? A senator? What happened to the 'kill the corrupt' thing?"

"Well yeah, it seems that this senator was about as corrupt as they come, but that's not the point. He left a note for you. Somehow he managed to write a note about all the crap this guy did. At the end he wrote: 'And to Kimberly, I love the efforts you've put into finding me. Alpha, The Black Mastiff.' Get this. We put it through the Alpha Cipher and it came out with three messages, set apart with gibberish. Here's the non classified one:

_'Dear Kimberly, I must admit I am disappointed in you. You still haven't managed to find out my identity? I guess I should wish you a happy birthday. Your present? Well I guess I could give you a hint. My name has exactly the same number of letters as your best friend's. Speaking of which, good luck.'_

What do you make of this? It sounds like a taunt to me. I still think we should bring in Stoppable in a consultant/captive capacity. Everything we've found fits. It could be him. He even has enigmatic powers to explain some of these 'impossible feats' we hear about. C'mon boss. Why won't you tag this guy?"

"Ron Stoppable is not the Black Mastiff. For one thing, I've had to skip out on him to fight BM. For another, I know for a fact that Ron does not have those kinds of skills. The last time we fought Drakken, Shego took him out in two minutes! No way has he gotten this good."

"Uh, newsflash, Ms. Possible. The man took out two aliens that bested **you**, not to mention trained at the Yamanouchi School for five years. If you don't bring him in, I'm gonna have to report you. I'm sorry, Ms. Possible, for all that it matters. Goodbye."

Kim continued to hold the phone to her ear, her mouth resting lightly on top of her shoes. She was mildly surprised at the insubordination. She was more surprised at herself. Why hadn't she been able to see Ron's abilities, especially after the things she'd just learned. Kim was angry at herself for both underestimating Ron and now for suspecting him. Now that she thought about it though, it made sense that Ron might be able to help. She called him. Unluckily for Kim, Ron didn't answer his phone. She recalled her subordinate. "I don't think Ron is involved in this. However, I now have reason to believe he might help us bring this bastard in. I'm authorizing level 2 violence in his apprehension. If you tell him it's my order he should come quietly, though. Whatever you guys do, don't try to fight him. If I'm right, he's innocent. If... if you're right, then, well, then there's no way in hell you can stop him." She hung up the phone. She cried.

.  
Ron found his phone. "Huh, I never heard it ring. Better see what she wants." He dialed her number from high up in the air. "Hey, Kim? You there? Uh you called me earlier so I was just wondering..." His sentence died as he heard her sobs. "I'll be right there."

.  
Kim didn't want to. She really thought she should trust Ron, yet she couldn't bring herself to think positively of him anymore. He'd come with her to GJ in the morning, one way or another.

.  
Ron landed a block from Kim's house and sprinted to the door. He rapped his knuckles quickly against the carved wood, then opened the door with ease. "Kim? Kim, are you home? I heard crying." A sob was his only answer. He walked into the kitchen to find that Kim apparently hadn't moved during the day. He noticed that some items had been gathered to her. She had the phone and its cradle sitting directly above her on the counter. The cake he'd put in a box for her lay untouched near where her head rested. A photo of the two of them at their junior prom sat upright in front of her face if she lay on her right side. Several boxes of tissues, both partially and completely used, lay all over the room. Ron felt a tear swell in his eye. blinking it back, he sat on the floor. After placing Kim's head on his lap, he drifted slowly off to sleep.

.  
He awoke some time later to a slight buzzing in his pocket. Sighing, he answered his phone as quietly as possible. He whispered, "Stoppable's phone, talk quietly."

"Sir, this is a GJ agent. I am calling to alert you that you have been drafted for work."

Ron sighed. "And if I say no, you, what, fire Kim?"

"Yes, sir."

"K, I'll be in in two days time. I'll need a computer, a secure laptop, a shower and a dojo for my time as a captive. Is that acceptable?"

"You won't be a captive, sir. This is a paid position-"

"Can it, kid. I used to work at the top of your organization. Bet you don't know what I do now."

"No, we don't sir."

"I'm part of a high level U.N. peacekeeping division. Level 1. See you guys later."

.  
Several miles away, a pale faced GJ agent stared at his phone. He knew that the claim he'd just heard was a serious one. The only agency he knew of on that level was the ShadowCorps. If this guy was as powerful as the ShadowCorps, then the careers of the men in this division were either going to be over or really long. He placed the phone down and started getting ready to suck up. He sent out three memos. One a request for authentification of Ron Stoppable's agent status on Level 1 to the UN. One a note to Dr. Director, telling her it was possible they would be having a high level agent visiting shortly. Right before the reply to that came, he sent out a request for all available amenities for a guest's quarters to be set up in the Alpha room. As he read director's summons and the confirmation note from the UN, he nearly soiled himself.

A/N: Hey guys. Sorry but my next few chapters are all kinda short. Don't know when I'll update. All reviews welcome. If the story gets weird here in a bit bear with me. Try to geuss who dies later. (I'm a horrible person, right?)


	3. Secrets Revealed

Kim woke in the morning to find that she was oddly comfortable. She was still in the kitchen, so her current comfort was unexplainable to her mind. She looked around her to see if someone had moved her stuff and found that the only difference from her previous positioning was that her head was propped up on something. craning her head to see what it was she noticed something tangled up in her hair. It didn't even register that it was a hand, nor did it register that another was resting lightly on her side. She looked up. She stared blankly at her ex-boyfriend's face, finally registering that he had come back. Sitting up as slowly and quietly as she could, she managed to relocate the hand that had been in her hair to join the one at her side. She hugged him carefully, not wanting to wake him up. Finally, leaning up against him, she buried her head in his shoulder and immersed herself in the scent of nacos as she slowly drifted to the first peaceful sleep she'd had in a long time.

.  
Ron woke to find Kim wrapped around his midsection. He smiled as he watched her sleep. He'd talk to her when she woke up. For now, he thought with a grin, I'll make her something to eat. His grin was gentle as he glowed a soft blue and levitated the two of them up the stairs. He laid Kim down, careful not to disturb her slumber, upon her bed. Moving back to the kitchen he started cooking.

.  
Kim awoke in the best way possible: to the smell of fresh coffee and breakfast. Stumbling downstairs, she couldn't help but wonder who had made her food. Since she was still semi-asleep and incapable of remembering anything more than her identity and that food is good, she was mildly surprised to find Ron, pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, hash-browns, orange juice, and, of course, coffee awaiting her.

"Morning sleepyhead." Ron's voice pierced the haze through which she had been functioning. She stared at him, half wondering what he expected her to do, completely surprised that he had returned to her after all the damage she'd caused him. In her mind she admitted to herself that she wasn't done hurting him quite yet. He stood from his seat at the table, suddenly anxious. "Uh, if you didn't want me here I can go. I didn't mean to intrude."

Kim finally found her voice as Ron turned to leave. "Stop." Ron turned back to look at her. "Please, Ron. Don't go."

"If you don't want me to go, I won't."

She suddenly knew that anything he said would be true. Well, at least anything he said to her. "I thought you hated me. I thought... I thought that you'd never want to see me again after... after... well, after everything I did. I'm sorry."

Seemingly without taking a step, Ron was at her side. He embraced her. "Best friends forever, Kim. You can't get rid of me that easily." He lowered his head to look directly into her eyes; his stare piercing her soul. "What could you have done to make yourself think I hated you?"

Kim backed away and stared pointedly at the floor, obviously avoiding his gaze. "I dumped you," she almost whispered. "Then, when I saw you for the first time since then, I brought it up. I signed the order to bring you in. And I made you kill. Why don't you hate me? Why?"

Ron's eyes were mellow throughout most of this, but at her last confessed sin, he felt his blood run cold. "What do you mean you made me kill?"

"Huh?"

"I said, 'What do you mean you made me kill?'" Ron could remember clearly every murder he'd ever committed. _Oh god, please don't know the truth. Please, please don't know the truth._

"I saw one of your memories. You killed the people who beat me. The people who threatened you. Thank you."

Ron worked to keep his body only slightly tense. "God, I'm sorry you had to see that. I never meant for you to see it. If we're sharing things, though, I geuss I should tell you which memory of your's I saw. I never knew what that bastard told you. I'm sorry I didn't stop him sooner."

"Oh, Ron. You did all you could. I'm grateful that I don't have to hide my feelings for you any longer. I love you, Ron." She watched, confused as Ron backed away, a sad look in his eyes.

"We can't be together, Kim."

Kim's eyes went wide. Her tears were flowing, unimpeded, when she finally managed to ask, "Why?"

Ron returned her gaze completely sympathetic. "Because I love you, Kim. Last time, when you hurt me, I left the country for four years. Before you ask, yes, I know the records say I was there for five years. Oh, and if you want to talk to Rufus, he's the school's new leader. It seems the old MMP prevented him from aging. Anyway, I learned every form of known combat nearly immediately after seeing it." He paused here to cycle through several very complex stances. "I spent the time between meeting masters of styles focusing, meditating, and mastering MMP. And, yes, the rumors are true, I know the Black Mastiff. I taught him most of what she knows. He's the fourth known master of MMP." Seeing the look on her face he said, "No, I can't tell you her identity. I also won't help you to bring him in, but I can protect your strike forces if you want. But if you would stop distracting me, I believe I have a story to tell. Oh, yes. Well, eventually Sensei told me that there was only one more method of fighting for me to master. There's something you should know first. Sensei was Toshimuru's son. He was also my great-great-great-great-great...grandfather. And yes he was really old. He wouldn't give me his exact age but he was well over one thousand. So he taught me the secrets of primordial manipulation. I think you should see what I mean." Ron and Kim suddenly found themselves on the Astral plane. He closed his eyes and a door appeared. Inscribed along the sides of the door were the words 'Medius Vox'.

Grateful for taking Latin in college, Kim said, "The middle of Power? What the hell is this Ron?"

Ron laughed. "Always the scholar KP. This is the only place someone can really see. Follow me." As they walked through the door the world suddenly reverted to the normal plane. However, Kim could now see the relationships between certain things. Most notably she saw her monkey self as attached to her by a bright green line of light. She felt a tug on her arm and her vision returned to normal. "I'm sorry about showing you that, KP, but you needed to know. The world isn't actually like this. In that place, you can see anything. You can watch someone several continents away for example. And, if you know how, you can bend relationships to change the very nature of one or both of the objects. I didn't know it, but that is kind of similar to how the lotus blade works." His eyes turned sad. "Me n' Rufus are the only people who ever completely mastered it. Shortly after we did, though, Sensei died. I freaked out. I left with my apprentice, giving Yori and Rufus joint control of the school, and we came back to the states. I continued training her, and before I knew it he'd made a list of all the people who'd ever wronged me. I told her that if he ever hurt you, that I'd break my True Word Vow. Well both of the ones I've made actually. I told her I'd use my powers to both bring you back and to utterly destroy him and her line." Seeing the question she was about to ask he headed her off. "A True Word Vow is a magically sealed promise that incurs some strict punishments for any breach. The punishment for breach of my first vow is death. The punishment for the second is that every one I've ever met will go into a coma where they see everything I don't want them to. I'd rather die than have the second one happen, so don't ask me to help with the Black Mastiff operation more than I can. My activities managed to catch the attention of GJ and Betty hired us as a team. I'd convinced him to forgive some of the people whose names she'd compiled, quite a few actually. Let's see, you, Sheila, Drew, Killagan, all of our other villains and anyone who hadn't attempted something that would kill someone I loved. Oh, and that one guy who accidentally tried to kill us 'cause he thought that we were demons or something. He also promised not to kill anyone that could convince her, me, or you they'd reformed. I think those are the people who have just had evidence stacked up against them. I do know that some of my 'assignments' have been made to look like her work. I can tell you that he works for my section, though he does kill people who aren't assigned to her. Oh, and yes, that was him on the oil tanker. Sorry, but I was being watched and they would have tried to kill you and your team if they thought I'd been compromised. We eventually rose to scrutiny at the higher levels and were given high ranking positions in the ShadowCorps. Eventually I became the director. Me, my apprentice and some super geniuses became a new division of the UN forces. Level 0. Oh, and those pronouns were randomly chosen." Kim was nearly hyperventilating.

As soon as Kim had managed to regain her breath, she asked the question, "But why can't we be an item?"

Ron sighed. "A. We can't because UN has strict rules about inter-department relationships. If we started going out, they'd put a death order on you. B. If I retire they'll put death orders on both of us. I can't put you in that kind of danger. I'm sorry."

"No." Ron looked into her eyes. Kim pressed on. "I'm not letting you do this. You can't make the same mistake I did. We can hide what we feel for each other, but you're not going to walk away to protect me. You can't make me wait another five years while you pull your head out of your ass. We already waited too long for me. You can't leave me." She fell and, he caught her. She buried her head in his shoulder and cried. He slowly and reluctantly wrapped his arms around her and carried her upstairs again.

A/N: Sorry about the length of this and the next two chapters. I hope my quick posting helps to alleviate the anger the fanfiction gods feel at me right now. Before I started typing this I noticed I already had 20 hits. 20 hits in 2 chapters of uploading. Yay!

Thanks for reading.


	4. GJ Custody

Ron woke in Kim's arms and for a minute was as comfortable as he'd ever been. Then his mind supplied the events of the previous day for his examination. He knew that a choice would have to be made, but as he watched her sleeping form he couldn't help but reminisce about the way they were before. "Hey, Kim. We've gotta go."

"Huh?" Kim blinked as she shook the sleep from her eyes.

Ron gazed at her. _God she looks so cute like that. _"C'mon, Kim. I promised one of your subordinates that I'd turn myself in today." He picked her up bridal fashion, then put her back down. "I'm gonna go get something to wear, then I'll come back, and we can eat before we go in. See you." With those words Ron left then flew home.

At his home, Ron grabbed a set of clothes and several special outfits, including two suits, a black gi, a white gi, a pair of gym shorts, several tank tops, and one set of combat clothes. He also packed a bag full of weapons and gadgets to practice with while he was in custody. Running towards his door he started floating upward and took off like a jet towards Kim's house. He landed on her porch and reopened the door. Setting his bag on the floor, he entered her kitchen and began a new meal. They sat, eating and talking, in the dining room. Ron wondering what he was going to do; Kim trying to stop herself from doing something they'd both regret. Eventually they were ready to go. Ron picked up everything they needed and flew off. Moments later he returned, hands empty. He picked Kim up by placing his arm around her back and they floated off together.

.  
Several minutes later they landed in front of the Middleton Beuno Nacho and opened the door. They sat at 'their' booth and Ron tapped tree times on the table before pressing a button on a remote in his pocket. The table disappeared and the slid down through a tunnel that opened beneath them. They followed. At the bottom, they both landed on their feet, awaiting the agents they knew would be coming to retrieve Ron. He went over to the corner and grabbed their bags, giving Kim hers back. She gasped as she saw the inside of his bag and the shuriken. He hurriedly shifted it so its interior was not visible to her. Appalled she asked, "Why do you have shuriken, Ron? I didn't think that's what your job was. You're just a glorified assassin aren't you? Aren't you?"

He sighed. "Kim, do we have to do this? Okay, then, yes I kill people. not often, but you had to realize that's what I do. I told you I rose through the ranks of the ShadowCorps. How'd you think I did that? Picking flowers? I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of. I am proud of my reasons for doing them though. I did them so that the people I love can be safe, and I'd do them all again. If you can't accept that then I'm sorry, but I guess you won't be talking to me much during my stay here." Ron turned and walked away.

.  
Not waiting for his escort, he made his way directly to Dr. Director's office. He didn't even stop at her door. He flashed a card at her subordinate and said, "Wait outside." When the person had left and the door was closed he told Betty, "Hey Betty. There's not much I can do to help your investigation. I will help your agents learn to protect themselves, but I can't teach them to kill. Sorry. I do think that we could help each other a lot." He flashed her a card.

Betty's eyes were wide. "Where'd you get that security card? That's a level 1 card!"

"Oh, Betty. You still underestimate me. Haven't you heard of Level 0? I'm the head. You want to see my card?" He pulled out a credit card and slid it into the computer casing. He pulled it out and the screen showed a picture of the level 0 HQ. The access screen asked for a name and he typed it in. He called up the UN forces director's meeting. You thought I retired after I quit here, right? Well I became the head of the ShadowCorps pretty fast. Then I became the head of Level 0. I'm the new cloaked figure on the hologram in the middle of the table. I also have access to every UN file. However, I also don't exist, so I have a proposition for you. If I get you Level 0 security clearance will you add some of my members to GJ?"

"Of course, sir. Whatever you want." Betty's eyes were glowing like those of a child on Christmas morning.

"Ok. Here's the list of names. Tell them it's an executive class order. Bye."

Ron walked slowly to the Alpha level detention cells. He stopped at his and entered. He lay on the floor of his room and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Ron woke to find Kim's arms surrounding him. He nearly panicked for a moment, but then decided that he ought to ignore her. He got up and dressed in a nondescript black gi. Leaving the room silently he went to the adjoining dojo. Morphing his bracelet back into its true form he began cycling through his stances. finally he morphed it into himself and gave it a katana. Grabbing one for himself he said, "Your goal is simple: Kill me." The blade waited for nothing dropping to the ground to perform a leg sweep. When Ron jumped up and out of the way, the blade stabbed upward. Ron caught the katana on the flat of his own and performed a wide diagonal slash downward and to the left. He realized that they were attracting a crowd so he caught his opponent's blade and morphed it back. "Is there a reason you're just standing there? Don't you have somewhere to be? Well, if you guys are gonna watch me you're gonna help." He threw away his swords. "Use anything you want. If any of you lands a blow on me, I'll train you all. I'll even promise not to hurt you." He caught the punch from behind and threw the offending person into the air. "Good. If I relied solely on sight that might have gotten me. Now, bring on the rest." For about half an hour he fought off fifty highly trained GJ agents, jumping around, landing on walls, and using his strength merely to throw those attacks that got close enough. He was about ready to end the session when he felt a slight tap on his shoulder He looked over his shoulder to find a fist making contact lightly with his back. He looked up and saw Kim. "Fine, I'll train you. Anyone who wants the experience had better show up here in the morning." With that he left, making his way back to the room he'd been assigned. This time, he made sure to lock the door.

Kim stood in shock as Ron ran off like that. _What's wrong with him? _She asked herself this futilely, knowing full well he was angry at her. _Surely he won't hold that against me forever. He said that I couldn't get rid of him. He told me he loved me!_ Kim ranted inside her head as she suffered through the congratulations and thanks of her co-operatives. "I'm sorry, guys. I need to think," she said, excusing herself.

A/N: Here it is, Chapter 4. I know a lot of you don't think Ron would react like that, and I tend to agree. The Ron from the series would never ignore Kim. However, this Ron spent 4 years in Japan and 1 year honing his fighting skills. He just so happens to have certain insecurities that were strengthened by all the time he spent alone and with people who didn't really like Kim, right after being dumped by her. Even though he knows her reasons now, it's very hard to allow yourself to show emotion after guarding yourself that long.

Thanks to CajunBear73, your reviews helped me to find certain flaws in the story. Also thanks to robzone for pointing out my uploading problem. For those of you don't know, I had some problems with spacing, so I fixed them in Chap 1 then accidentally posted Chap 2 instead of it. If you missed Chap 1 its back up now. All of my chapters from now on should be ok, so feel free to let me know if you find any problems in my writing.

Thank you to all of the reviewers in advance. I really enjoy writing this and wouldn't stop even if I were threatened by gangsters (unlike Kim), but you reviewers always give me the warm fuzzies. I'm not sure how long it willb be until I post Chap 5. I've already finished Chap 6 and I know what I need to put into Chap 5 to make it work, but I can't really write it very well. I will tell you that I almost posted this in tragedy and might still change it if you guys think I should, but I think the last couple chapters( at least the ones I have planned) should make up for it. As Always read and review.

In the immortal words of Invader Zim, "Victory! Victory for Zim!"


	5. Training and Redemption

Kim stood in the hallway. Her eyes were moist. She stared at the door as if it withheld from her the secrets of the universe. She stared at it as if if it would open she would be free from concerns such as food and drink and would never matter again. She stared at it as if it held something that was equal to ambrosia or pure ecstasy. In her mind it did.

Kim stared at the door into Ron's assigned quarters, wondering how long it would be until he opened the door and let her in. He couldn't have locked the door on purpose. He probably just forgot that she didn't have a key. There was no way Ron didn't like her anymore. Like he'd said, "You can't get rid of me that easily." She couldn't have scared him off. She couldn't have.

The dam of tears broke. Kim sat down by his door and slowly cried herself to sleep.

.  
Ron awoke while it was still dark outside in order to get his own training in. Musing for a moment about how much his years in Yamanouchi had changed him, he decided that he would give up the ability to wake up whenever he wanted for the closeness with Kim he used to have. He would never admit how much he missed their relationship, but when he was alone he couldn't help but feel remorse. _Oh well. All good things must come to an end._The thought came out of pure desperation more than actual belief in the platitude. He knew that his life could be very long due to the health benefits of his MMP, and he could never imagine Kim dying. Kim dying was impossible. That was the one thing she would never do. Shaking his head to rid himself of his ruminations, he grabbed his assasination bag and crept out of his room slowly. He noticed a sleeping form on the floor. He stooped to pick Kim up, carried her into his room, and laid her on his bed. Sighing softly he made his way silently to the dojo.

.  
Kim awoke in a strange bed, though not for the usual reasons. She'd slept in this bed before. In fact, she'd spent the night when Ron had first arrived in this bed, merely two days ago. She'd even used this bed before when she'd needed to stay at GJ. No, this bed was strange because it was in a room she had fallen asleep outside of the day before. She was in Ron's room. That realization more than anything else made her heart leap with joy and her mind race. Had Ron forgiven her? Or was he merely doing this so that she didn't freeze? Was this the kindness of a friend or the love of a boyfriend? Regardless of all her experience with him, Kim still couldn't tell anything about his emotions. He was an enigma. She hoped to change that.

Kim got up and searched the room. She looked through his closet, his dresser, and under his bed. She found nothing. The room was spotless. There was nothing in the room at all. It was spotless. This only served to confuse Kim more. For as long as she'd known him, Kim was slobbish. He always had stuff strewn about his room. Now it was as if this was a completely different person. All the mannerisms she'd known in him were gone. Her Ron was gone. Who this new man was she had no idea. She knew that he wasn't her Ron, though.

.  
Kim awoke an hour later, her mind much clearer this time. She recognized that she'd been mildly delirious. She wondered what had happened to Ron to make him like this. _It was me,_ she realized_. I did this to Ron. What have I done? _Kim sat there for a long time, pondering. She wanted to bring back her Ron. She wanted him to be as he was before, not as he was now. She refused to accept his changes as permanent.

.  
Ron broke off his training during the middle of his target practise. He sighed as he noticed the three people entering the dojo were all people he recognized. Will Du was a surprising sight. He had no idea how many people would show up, but he guessed that if Du was here, he was in for one hell of a day. The other was the man who'd thrown the first punch yesterday. Lagging behind the other two, Kim seemed to have woken up. He glanced at them and threw his hand around in a gesture of release. The daggers he'd been manipulating fell to the floor. he floated around, picking them up. "Will and Jake, spar." He watched in mild amusement as a blank look shot over their faces. "I can't help you without seeing the flaws in your style. Now spar." He noticed that Jake was too conservative with his punches, not even trying to leave false openings. Will, on the other hand, left himself far too vulnerable. "That's enough. Will try to hit me." Will jumped forward, intent on taking all his frustrations out on me. Ron dodged his first three punches, caught then repelled his foot, then leaned slightly to the right and planted my fist in his chest. "You left yourself open to four deathblows. Work on defending your torso more. You can't bring anything in if you're dead. Jake, I want you to try to get me to drop my guard. I don't care how. I won't try to follow you. you can move as mych as you want."Jake squared himself up, just out of range of a punch from Ron. He leg swept. Ron's leg didn't even budge. Snarling, Jake moved in. Punch, punch, kick, punch- everything bounced off just bounced off. Finally he let go. Ron started fighting back. Jake saw an out. He dropped his defenses for a minute, and feinted at Ron's head. Ron ducked gripped Jake's shirt, and threw. "Good job. You succeeded. You just need to take more risks, and maybe diversify your fighting style. As more people entered he gave them all tips.

Around lunchtime, Ron disappeared. Kim felt a small tug on the corner of her shirt and a hand on her shoulder. An invisible Ron guided Kim out of the dojo and to the cafeteria. She picked up food for both of them. Again they walked to his room. He sat with her on his bed. His eyes would not meet hers. They ate in silence. He gazed into her eyes, forcing himself not to look away. "I'm sorry for the past few days. I've been an ass." Ron finally had to avert his gaze not wanting to face her rejection.

"Oh, Ron, it's okay. It's fine. We're gonna be alright. Everything's fine." They embraced, Kim wrapping her arms around him.

"I was scared, Kim. I was scared. I geuss now I should tell you everything."

A/N: Another short chapter. I know, I hate em too. But hey 5 Chapters in one day! I = awesome.

I added a bit to this chapter but I still don't like it. If I have time later, I might rewrite this entirely. Thanks to the three reviews I've gotten. 182 hits, 94 visitors, and 3 reviews, two of which were from the same person. I feel so special.


	6. An Old Enemy and a New One

He woke that morning from a terrible dream. Slowly rising, her slowly walked over to Sasha. Putting on one of his special outfits, he slowly climbed onto Sasha. Soon he was flying through the air towards his target, dog figurine in hand. He could not hear anything because of his mask, audio warfare was one of his preferred methods of assassination. Staring off into the distance, he thought slowly to himself. _Thirteen more targets and my scores will all be settled. I'm almost done._ _Two years of work is nearly completed._ He grinned. This would be fun. He revved Sasha's engine. They shot off into the sky.

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"Three reports were received today of an odd flying man shouting, 'Booyahahaha!' Could this be signalling the long feared return of Zorpox, The Conqueror, or is this the work of someone else? If it isn't Zorpox, is it a prankster or some new and equally disturbed villain? The world can only speculate. Log on to our website for information about Zorpox. We'll be bringing updates to this story as we get them."

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Kim stared at Ron. "No. You're lying. You have to be lying. You're him, but you're not him. You're not making any sense. Get away from me. Get away from me. Get away!" Kim ran from his room, eyes blurry and brain only slightly active. Ron sighed softly to himself. He then collapsed, utterly exhausted and spent. He didn't even fight as the tears started falling. He didn't know if he would ever fight again.

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The man on Sasha slowed as he neared his target. He jumped, landing in the middle of the mark's room, not even bothering to mask his presence. "Hello. Let's play a game." He let out another of Zorpox's twisted laughs. "I'll try to kill you, you'll try to escape." His grin turned into a snarl. "Don't die too fast. I want some fun out of this." Zorpox approached the master assassin, not hearing or caring about any reply. He held out his hand, his other pulling a throwing star from his bag. Grasping it tightly he launched his body towards his opponent. He threw the star past his prey, bouncing it back into the fool's back. Another laugh. "What? Can't you dodge a simple star?" He pulled out a katana. "Well then, this is gonna be about as easy as killing bloated polititians is."

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Soon, a masked man was standing over the quartered corpse of his former opponent. He laughed.

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"This is Pim Probable here at the scene of the murder of a retired GJ agent. The scene is indeed a bloody one, and is contributed, so far, to the feared Zorpox. The report the police received was that a man, presumably dressed in dark clothing, but possibly unnaturally hued, fled the scene laughing Zorpox's signature laugh. Naturally this news is disturbing. For those of us who don't know, Zorpox was the first and one of only two villains to best the great Kim Possible. It is believed that Zorpox is the manifestation of the evil of former citizen and peer of Kim, Ron Stoppable. He has not been seen publically in five years, since the time when he broke up with Miss Possible. It has been reported yet unconfirmed that this loss caused him to lose heart and give into his darkness. Several sources have told us that he was taken in to government holding, though this also remains unconfirmed. If you see Ron Stoppable or Zorpox, the Conqueror, regard them both as extremely dangerous. I repeat, both of these men are to be considered armed and extremely dangerous. Do not engage them if you see them. Instead call your local tips hotline..."

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Ron awoke with a start as a knocking sound came from his door. "Yes?" He said opening his door.

"Mr. Stoppable, you are under arrest. We're putting you in heavy security lock down."

"Any particular reason I should listen to you?"

"We believe Zorpox may have returned."

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Kim sat in her house crying. She listened to the TV at times like this: it helped to calm her down. "Why would he lie to me like that? Why?" Looking up, she noticed something that made her blood run cold. The news report headline said, "Zorpox: Is He Back?"

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Ron sat alone in solitary confinement, a single camera watching him no matter where he went. He didn't mind. He didn't do much. He merely ate, slept, and occasionally used the toilet in the center of the room. Nothing to even merit the interest of the men stationed outside of his room. He was slowly wasting away. It was plain to anyone who watched him. He would eat only slightly less than enough to survive, regardless of how much food was placed in his cell. Finally, one day, he collapsed from malnutrition. according to the rules, no one was allowed to enter, even if a medical emergency were to happen. There was nothing they could do.

Ron Stoppable flatlined fairly quickly, and immediately the GJ agents ran into the room to revive him. Two hours later, Ron was fairly stable, but still in danger of death. Even so, no one was allowed to try to wake him from his coma. Within a week the world was informed of the coma that they suspected had taken away both Zorpox and the Black Mastiff. Exactly twenty four hours after that, another attack occurred. GJ made a public apology for the detention of Ron Stoppable and announced visitors would be allowed to see him the next day.

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Kim ran to the door that sealed Ron into solitude. She stared anxiously as the machines attached to him buzzed and beeped, praying that the men who were coming to open the door would arrive soon. The soft and shallow movements on the brainwave monitor were alarming but deep in her heart she knew that he would survive. He had to survive.

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Mr. and Mrs. Dr. Possible arrived at the facility early in the morning, anxious to see the man they had once considered another son. They still didn't know the whole story, regardless of any communications from Kim, but they believed that breaking up with Ron was the stupidest thing she had ever done. Therefore they had been both shocked and pleasantly surprised when Kim had called them, telling them that she and Ron were both at GJ headquarters, and asking about how to show him that she was sorry. Mrs. Dr. P thought the advice James had given, to tell him and then take a passive approach, was the best he'd ever given.

Kim gasped as her mother entered the room she'd been in for most of the day. Her father entered shortly after. The gasp Kim had was mirrored a minute later by her mother when she saw the sickly boy in front of her. Gone was the Ron who had eaten at her house as often as at his own. Instead this man was a near to death man, whose eyes, she was sure, were full of sorrow and suffering. His face was gaunt, unshaven, and lifeless. His sunken stomach showed nothing but muscle, though the bone could not have been far. From what she could see, Ron was once one of the strongest men in the world. Now he had to fight for a chance at living. He looked as though he might snap as a branch if caught in a strong breeze. She noticed the look of despair on Kim's face, then the bleak outlook portrayed by the machines preserving his life. "I did this." The words, spoken by her daughter shocked Anne. She knew that Kim and Ron had been fighting, but hearing that her daughter was the cause of this... Anne's mind could not find the words. Kim did. "I crushed his soul. I might as well have killed him. Remember when I broke up with him? This was a much more crippling blow." Anne did indeed remember that day, just as she remembered this hollow voice. Ron had used this voice back then, shortly before he'd tried to end his life. She couldn't imagine what could have caused a hurt deeper than that. "I rejected him." Anne took a sharp intake of air, involuntarily. James merely sat in the corner, confused. He didn't understand this side of his Kimmy-cub. It scared him. "He bared his soul to me and I rejected him. I rejected him for no reason other than that he told the truth." Both of her parents were shocked, but Kim found she was no longer able to look at them. She looked over at the man whose life was held in a precarious balance, the man who'd tried to end that life twice because of her already, the man she loved. Her voice was little more than a whisper at this point, and her parents leaned towards her unconsciously. "I don't deserve him. I should leave while he sleeps. He doesn't need the pain I've caused him. He never earned it. I shouldn't give him more."

Anne and James Possible left GJ, both with tears streaming down their faces. They cried for the young couple whose pain was not earned. They cried for the young couple whose lives were toyed with by fate. They cried for the world.

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The Stoppables went to see their son late in the evening. They brought Hana with them for the simple reason that she deserved to see her brother. The tall and imposing structure seemed out of place in Middleton. Their son seemed out of place in the stark white room.

Hana saw Kim in the hall as they walked through the building. "Kim!" She giggled happily and walked over. "Sister Kim! Are you here to see the man, too?"

Kim looked around for a minute, disoriented and confused by the small voice that had called out to her. Noticing Hana, she walked over. "Hey, Han. Are you here to visit your brother?"

"Yeah! They say he was a hero and was wrongly persuhcutted. What does persuhcutted mean, Kim?"

Kim laughed for the first time since Ron had told her his secrets. It was impossible to be sad while in the same room as Hana. "Persecuted, Hana, means that people did bad things to him for no good reason. Like because he was smart or because he had blond hair or something."

Hana looked thoughtful for a moment. "Why did they persuhcut him, Kim?" She finally asked. Hana thought she had said something wrong the moment she saw tears cloud Kim's vision. "Did I say something bad, Kim?"

"No. No, you didn't. Your brother was persecuted because he loved me. The only thing he ever did wrong was try to help me. He truly was a hero, Han. He is the greatest hero the world has ever seen. You should be proud to call him brother."

When all the Stoppables and Kim were in the same room, Kim found that her mind was incapable of thought as Han recounted what Kim had told her. "Kim told me he's the greatest hero ever! Tell me some stories!" Kim stifled a laugh at the demanding tone Han used, but still had tears cloud her eyes as she thought of all of times Ron had saved her. She laughed along with everyone else as they all told stories of his antics, but Kim felt that laughing while Ron lay silent beside her was a betrayal of everything he stood for.

Soon enough, Kim was again left all alone with Ron. She smiled softly as she fell asleep, his hand in hers.

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In the dead of night, Kim awoke to find that there were ten ninjas in the room with her. One of these was a mere half foot tall. She bowed silently to the Yamanouchi ninjas, watching as they paid their respects to their greatest warrior hero. She watched as each face was unmasked. She recognized Yori, Hirotaka and Rufus, as well as the faces of several of the others. Finally Rufus came forward alone and placed a small package on Ron's chest after waving it under his nose several times. "Cheese," stated an obviously distraught Rufus. The ninja left quickly after that, every eye among them teary. Kim sat back down by the head of her best friend. She would not leave his side til he woke, this she swore to herself.

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Kim awoke early the next morning, and as she sat up she noticed that apparently the extended Possible and Stoppable families had arrived during the night as had Wade, he even came in person. Most notably in her family were her cousins Larry and Joss, her uncle Slim, and Nana Possible. Even Ron's cousin Shawn had arrived. She was only mildly surprised to see a teary eyed Joss try to wake Ron as Larry just watched. "C'mon Ron. You're not supposed to get hurt! You're my hero! What'll I tell the fanclub? You can't be hurt. You can't be." Kim wrapped an arm around Joss.

"Don't worry. He'll pull through. You can't keep a hero down. I've gotten hurt before, too. Ron just got hurt a little more than usual." So far only Kim and her parents knew that Ron had intentionally starved himself. Everyone else had assumed that he'd been hurt by some form of GJ incompetence. She was lucky that no one had yet threatened to sue. If Ron had indeed worked for GJ as he claimed then there was a waiver on file, though, so it didn't matter much. She whispered quietly, so that no one would hear, though Joss did, "C'mon, Ron. You have to get through this. I still haven't apologized.

The two families had settled down and were talking quietly to each other as Kim sat at Ron's side, never getting up. She was listening to Jim and Tim, who, like the super geniuses they were, were trying to find a way to wake Ron up. "His coma was caused by a case of hypoglycemia..." "But the cardiac arrest complicated the situation..." "Causing the coma to remain after treatment was administered." "Because he was legally dead for a short time, has a history of cranial trauma, and wants to date our sister..." "...we can safely assume that he's suffered brain damage." "If that's true then..." "...our experimental regenerative tissue..." "...might help to revive him!" "Hicka-bicka-boo?" "Hoosha!"

At the sound of the 'Hoosha!' everyone in the gigantic room turned to look at the twins. "We might be able to save Ron..." "...if we use our new invention." "It'll also help his memory, though we don't doubt that some mild memory loss has occurred.

"That won't matter. He imprinted most of his memories into me so that he could show me some things." At this everyone turned to Kim.

"Let's do this." Everyone turned to look at Mr. Stoppable. The steel in his answered their unvoiced questions.

A/N: If anyone else but me was writing this I'd be angry at this point. I can't believe that I almost decided to kill Ron earlier in the chapter. Next chapter is entirely from 'Zorpox's' POV, if indeed that is who it is.

To be honest, I ended this here because I don't want to write anymore today, but I wanted to post so that I might get some more reviews. Come on people.

Instead of an inspirational or insane quote, I've decided to make you jealous here. As I wrote this, I ate corned beef and cabbage, while listening to Jimmy Buffett's album: Meet Me in Margaritaville: The Ultimate Collection. Isn't that a vivid picture?


	7. The Search for a Cure

A man stood alone shrouded in shadows as another man, this one blue hued stepped up to him. "So, master. You seem to be taking your enslavement very well. How goes it?"

A weak voice responded, "Why don't you kill me? Why must I live to see you twist my power and use it for death and destruction? Haven't you done enough to me?"

"Oh, no Sensei. You were the man who taught me everything I know. You made me. You have been judged worthy of being one of the inhabitants of my new, perfect world. Now, all I need to do is kill that redhead bitch and that rat, and my reign will become inevitable. Don't you want to see that? Imagine it, Sensei. I'll rid the world of anyone who ever mocked us, anyone who ever shunned us. I'll destroy those who want to kill us, kill those who wanted to harm us. The world will become a paradise. We will be gods."

Throughout this entire conversation, Kim had been inching closer to the two people, hoping to catch a glimpse of the bound man, to help him, or at least to find out who this blue monster was. This blue monster who thought she was evil. She stopped suddenly when she noticed the impressive features of Zorpox.

"Please, my apprentice. Don't do this. Kim didn't do anything. Please, leave her and Rufus alone. They've gone through enough. They never ment to hurt me, and you deserved anything that they did to you."

"It's not about revenge against them, anymore. They are the only ones who can stop me. They might ruin the entire plan. You know that they would."

"And they will. They will defeat you. I told Kim everything. She and Rufus can deal with you. You won't get away with this."

Kim finally caught the glance she'd been waiting for. "Ron?" He looked as if he hadn't eaten in a month. His muscles were small and useless. His eyes were sunken. His arms and legs were bound in thick iron chains. He looked to be in excruciating pain. Kim ran towards him. "Ron!"

Two sets of eyes shot towards her. "Oh. And here I thought that I would have to work to kill you. Sensei, your redheaded vixen is helpful.

"Kim! Why'd you do that? You would have been safe as long as you didn't reveal your presence. Now he's gonna try to kill you."

"Then we won't let him. Stay there for a moment. I'll get you free." Kim did a double flip and landed right behind Ron. She finally looked away from him slightly to assess their opponent. He was very similar to Zorpox in appearance. They both had a blue skin tone. They both had a slightly crazed look in their eye. This one had a broad smile. He seemed to be genuinely happy. "Any idea who this is?"

"My first apprentice." Kim looked up. She took another look at this enemy. This man did have a lot in common with Zorpox. That smile was so out of place on his face though. It seemed so familiar. It seemed so... right. That she should be fighting someone with so much in common with Ron was cruel. "He doesn't have the power or control that I do, but he's got something more. He has a deep passion. It let him imprison my mind here. It lets him overpower me."

"Ron. Not that I don't love the doom and gloom stuff, but where is here? And more importantly, how do I get you out of here?"

"You mean you don't know? The great Kimberly Anne Possible can't even recognize her boyfriend's soul. C'mon, Kim. This place is the most recognizable in the world! The unnatural colors? The bright specks of light. I'm amazed you can even project." Throughout all of this, Kim could see the most recognizable part of Zorpox fighting for supremacy in this new body. She noticed that the spark in his eyes moved rapidly around, trying to become dominant.

"She can't project, my apprentice. Do you not see those dots around her outline? Can't you tell what is happening to her? She was brought here for a reason, though the reason itself eludes me. It must be the work of the unmanifested." Kim's mind was about to explode.

"What are you two talking about? How can we be in your soul? Who's this unmanifested? How can I help you?"

"Kim. Look at me Kim. It's okay. You are going to be fine. If they brought you here then you must play an important role in this. They never get anything done unless they can agree on it, and that is very rare because it is made up of conflicting ideas. Only important things ever manage to get a unanimous vote. Now, if you really want to save me, try to evoke all of the stronger emotions within me. They are what gives me power in this place. The ones you should worry about are Love, Joy and Anger. The rest will come with time, but they will help me to defeat this man in this place. Now, if you want any of your other questions answered, you've got to learn. See you, soon. KP."

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As he said his final words, KP blinked and sat up. _Now I've seen him. I know what my enemy looks like. How can I do this? He looks so much like Ron. How can I fight him?_ Kim sat with Ron, holding his hand and whispering encouraging and slightly embarrising, at least to her, things into his ear.

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Ron stared at his opponent. He knew that if Kim succeeded he would have more power. The only thing he was really afraid of was that she wouldn't be able to excite anger within him and Zorpox would truly become whole once more.

Zorpox, as most chose to call him, gathered up his strength. "She'll never succeed, you know. You don't even have what it takes to control anger like I do. Remember the Lorwardians? the first time you ever truly embraced my power and you killed. Do you really want that power back? Do you think you can handle it? Do you think that this time will be any different than the last time that love and anger were in the same person? Are you just going to let yourself kill another compound full of people? Don't make me laugh. The moment you get that power, you'll become just as bad as you think I am. You're no better than me. Inherently stronger, perhaps, but you're no more morally correct than I am."

"I know."

"Then why? Why fight me?"

"Because I love her. If I go mad, I'll let her kill me. I'll never become as corrupt as you have. I'll never kill for sport."

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Kim sat in the darkness of Ron's room. "Joy, anger, love." This she repeated over and over again trying to find some way to evoke those emotions within him. She leaned close to his ear yet again. "Ron, when you wake up, you are going to have to take me to the Yamanouchi School. We'll both get rid of our jobs. You can help to mold young minds. You can be a nicer Steve Barkin. I know that we'd be happy. We might even get married some day. But only when you come back to me. Come back to me, Ron." Kim almost didn't see the electrical spike on a graph that indicated that Ron's brain movement was increasing.

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Ron watched the happy grin disappear from his opponent's face as it reappeared on his own. "She couldn't do it, huh?"

"Shut up!" his now melancholy foe shouted.

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Josh Mankey looked into the room. Kim Possible, his lifelong crush sat within. He'd been sad when she'd started dating that fool. He'd been heartbroken when she'd led him on like that. Somehow though, he'd always known that if they only had sex one time, that she would realize the fool she'd been and run back to him. _What better time and place than right in front of the loser while he can't do anything about it._ The severely delusional boy walked into the room.

Kim looked up as Josh walked into Ron's room. That the bastard had the gall to come here angered her, but she decided to let the scene play out. Maybe he'd even help her with the anger part of her plan. She was completely shocked when he dropped his pants. She couldn't even respond to his hand reaching out towards her chest. She did notice the large imprint in the wall he made shortly after, as well as another spike in brain activity. She didn't notice, however, that Ron's hair no longer touched the pillow, or that his eyes, though closed, had transformed into an icy blue. She briefly wondered what had sent Josh flying before calling GJ security.

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Zorpox, for he was truly Zorpox now, even if that name was only used to distinguish himself from the original, glared at Ron Stoppable. How dare he steal anger and joy, the two emotions that, other than hate, had been providing him with his power. He couldn't draw the power of melancholy into himself, mostly because that would not help in the slightest. Melancholy is a powerful emotion, but it stops the owner from using it for many things, if only because it labeled them pointless. Neither could Zorpox use calm. Though it was very powerful and good for the things Zorpox held before all others, it would taint his fervent energy and leave the rest of his power useless. That was too high a price for him to take. As long as his hate held out, he could still entrap his opponent, but he'd been forced to abandon shooting pain into his body with the desertion of anger. He held onto his defences and tried to hold on to his prisoner's emotions. He attempted to prevent any of them from growing. Especially love.

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Kim awoke to a loud screeching. She noticed that there was a small monitor in the room showing the room Yamanouchi used for outside contact. She noticed Rufus and Yori surrounded by a sea of ninja monkeys. Both groups seemed to know the other was there, but neither seemed about to fight. She knew this was because the monkeys, under the leadership of a certain dress wearing one named Chippy, had taken Ron to be their master after the defeat of Monkey Fist. His coma was dire news to them. Kim quickly filled in the Yamanouchi School leaders on the recent changes to the case. Rufus looked thoughtful for a moment, but said nothing. Both he and Yori seemed to be much more relaxed though. Kim hated that. _What do they know that I don't?_ That question constantly flowed through her mind, yet always remained unanswered. She guessed that she would find out soon enough.

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Ron continued fighting Zorpox's control, if only to keep him here and alerted. He knew that Kim would free his love to become as powerful as he wanted it to be soon, and he needed to keep Zorpox away from her first.

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Kim could think of nothing to reinforce Ron's love for her. She knew he loved her and thought that he knew she loved him, but maybe it wasn't that simple. Maybe she needed to show him that love, or maybe she needed to reinforce it through some act. So she had spent the last several hours whispering sweet nothings into his ear. Finally, she went to the tweebs. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I need your help."

"And you expect us to do... What?" "We know what you did to Ron." "That was cold, sis. Real cold." "We can't believe that you would walk out on him like that."

"I'm, sorry. I never meant to do that. I need you two to help me apologize to Ron, and maybe, hopefully, bring him back. I thought that you might even help me to do that."

Both twins stared at her a minute, before turning to each other. "Hicka-bicka-boo?" Jim asked, in a mildly reluctant tone. "Hoosha." Tim agreed. He was also somewhat less than excited when he said this, and Kim felt suddenly that this was not how they should be.

"Okay. I know that you may not like it and that this might sound weird, but I think that the best way to wake Ron up is by making him remember love. So, what I want to do is place my memories of the two of us, all of them, on your memory booster thing-"

'It's an organic tissue that responds to the tissues around it..." "...to grow and replicate them." "It's not a memory booster thing..." "...just some basic brain cell replacement."

"Nothing you two come up with will ever be basic," Kim replied with a snort. Then remembering the rest of the words the Tweebs had spoken she said, "So you can't do it?"

"Well, we never said that we couldn't..." "...just that we weren't planning on doing so." "If you give us an hour of prep time..." "... we can have both operations ready." "You'd just need to..." "...get the Stoppables to allow them."

Kim said, "The Stoppables can't make that decision, and the person who can has already given her approval." Before the twins could even begin to understand her words, Kim was already outside and sprinting down the block. After all the time she'd spent away from Ron, she was beginning to feel anxious. That, and she figured that she'd have to talk to Betty about the operation she was going to go through soon.

Jim turned to Tim. "Did she just say..." "'Her approval.'," His brother confirmed. Jim and Tim wondered about the possible ramifications of Kim's revelation. The worst that they could come up with, as well as the most likely to their minds, was that Ron was married.

A/N: I know. I'm evil. I had planned to end this chapter with the surgery, but I decided that I just wouldn't do justice to it right now. Besides, I wanted to get this chapter up and posted, and that cliffhanger was just too juicy to pass up. Don't worry, though, this is a Kim/Ron fanfic.

Thank yous go out to CajunBear73, my most faithful reviewer. I just started the last story on your profile, so you better finish it soon.

Robzone, another reviewer and the first person to put this story on alert (at least, I think it was the story. It might just have been me) either way. Thank you.

Sentinel103, thanks for the review. Sorry I haven't responded yet, and your question is now kind of outdated, (Chapters 2, 3, 5, and 8) so I'll ask one of my own. Did my transitions get better in chapters 2 and 3 or were they consistently sucky. I do get that 4-6 were also suckish, but hey, sleep deprivation may make it easier to get ideas for stories, but editing is even harder then. I just wanted to let you know, it's lots of questions weren't answered, not "Lots of questions isn't answered." Sorry about that but hey, I likes me my grammar. It's almost as good as tacos.

If you're impatient because you want to know what Ron said to Kim, I have to say that I'm sorry. I too would like to know, so if anyone would like to enlighten me, I only have a general idea of what part of it is about. Yay, forgetting major parts of a story before you can write them down!

People in 26 different countries have seen this story. I'm not gonna name them all. I am disappointed that even after my corned beef reference, I have no Irish hits. :( If any of you know any Irish people, make them read this! They happen to be one of the two countries my ancestors lived in that haven't reviewed. The other is Russian, and I can't complain about them because I don't speak their language. I was happy to see both Polish and German visitors, though I'm starting to wonder if maybe the website doesn't distinguish between the British Isles. A lot of U.K. hits, and if those include the Irish, could someone from there let me know? Thanks in advance. :)

Almost 1000 hits on this story! You guys make me feel good about myself!

I may not be able to post for a while due to conflicting school, Order of the Arrow, and familial obligations. I had to work at my dad's shop today and will again tomorrow. Sorry if it takes me a bit to repost or respond to reviews, just to let you know before hand.

If anyone is feeling like yelling at me because of the scene with Josh in this chapter, 1. I don't condone rape in any way shape or form, regardless of any circumstances or excuses. I happen to enjoy the Turkish punishment, at least the one that was in place when my dad was stationed there. 2. I don't like Josh. He seemed too self righteous in the series, let alone that he got in the way of Kim and Ron (kinda like me.) Let's just say that I don't trust that Monkey boy. 3. If you don't like my story, don't complain to me. Complain to the evil people that tied you up and forced you to read it.

If anyone is wondering about the initial reaction of the twins, the Possible parents shared Kim's revelations with them. They, however, were not privy to her breakdown or sadness.

That was probably the longest authors note I've ever written. Yay, long winded speeches!

"If given the choice between appearing on TV and sleeping, nine times out of ten I **do** choose sleeping." -me


	8. A Monster is Born

Tim walked in to the room where Doctor Director was watching his brother prep Kim and Ron for surgery. "What we're going to do is slice along the right side of Kim's head, inserting a small spike that will slide a needle into the skull to allow us to tap into Kim's mind and give us access to her thoughts. Then, we'll start the cell division process on batch one. By the time the nerve cell grafts are ready, we'll be able to place all of Kim's memories into the memory storage of the new cells. Ron will only have to accept the grafts instead of two separate surgeries. Of course, there is a downside to doing this. Kim may have a problem with the electronic pulses released when we copy her memories. Ron will know everything that Kim does. Their brains may become linked, meaning that they might form a bond like the one me and Jim share. The problem is, one or both of them might go crazy. We can't give Ron any painkillers because of his condition, but if they do become connected, Kim might be able to feel his pain while we operate. Even worse is the fact that we have absolutely no idea what he's been through. Kim might become privy to that information. If she does do you really think that she'll be a mentally stable agent anymore? Even worse, Ron might go insane when he realizes what he did to her. He didn't have any knowledge of how she was after he left and before you guys stepped in. Either one of them could need to be removed from duty. They might even go rogue. Are you sure you want to authorize this operation?"

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Kim lay down onto the bright white, unnaturally clean bed. She tried hard to stop from shaking as Jim strapped her arms and legs to the table. She fought him as he tried to put a needle into his arm, failing miserably. She didn't want to stop looking at her Ron. If the painkillers kicked in and she lost lucidity, she wouldn't be able to. She attempted to express this thought to her brother, but he merely covered her mouth with an oxygen mask. Her last thought as she slipped into oblivion was, "I wonder what Ron will do when he wakes up."

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Jim looked at his sleeping sister. He finally saw the reasons she had for dumping Ron. It hadn't been easy for her, he'd known that. He hadn't known that she had done so because she loved him.

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Tim, with the go ahead from Betty Director, made the first incision a quarter of an inch long. After inserting the nano-probe he and his brother had designed into the incision, he activated it.

.  
Jim looked at the screen. He knew that any moment know it would- there. It suddenly lit up and started to glow an unearthly green. It was reminiscent of a scary movie special effect. The one where the spooky green glow lights up the cracks around a door and its frame. He smiled. This was what he'd been waiting for. He spared one glance to make sure Kim's vitals remained both stable and in the green before settling into the task at hand.

.  
Tim, looking at a small screen, was smiling. Kim's vitals were all still fine, though her blood pressure was a little high, and the probe was about to arrive at its destination. Things were going indescribably well.

.  
Jim was beginning to relax now that the hard part of navigating the minute areas of Kim's brain was over. _Everything's going to be just fine._ He spared the time for a small smile before activating the computer in charge of downloading and storing Kim's memories.

.  
Tim looked at Kim's vitals again. Depressing the button that would allow Jim to hear him he said, "Jim, be careful, we seem to have an increase in heart rate and neurological function. If we're not careful here, we could cause a stroke."

.  
Jim started to worry. Crippling Kim's brain had not been part of the plan. He couldn't do anything other than worry though, because if he did, he would probably cause even more damage.

.  
Kim was having a horrible nightmare. Zorpox had been forcing her to relive dumping Ron ever since he'd noticed her here. It didn't worry her that she was sent to Ron's mind when she fell asleep. She knew how attuned to each other they were ever since the whole 'Mim and Jon' thing. What worried her was that she couldn't find him. She knew that that was impossible. This was his mind. How could he not be here? but she had no explanation, so she could not find a way to set her mind at ease. She was ready to cry as she was once again launched into that horrible memory.

.  
Tim and Jim were still worried, but they were both relieved when Kim's vitals seemed to level out. They were also astounded that her body was showing no signs of strain. Her heart rate was 138, which should have indicated at least moderate strain, but that was not reflected by anything else in her body. Her breathing and body temperature were both normal. In everything she was normal, although much healthier than most people. Fighting evil tends to protect against weight gain. Her heart rate was unexplainable. There was no reason for her heart to be acting as if she had been and was continuing to run a marathon. She wasn't even exercising. Her brothers shared a deep worry about her while they worked.

.  
Kim awoke to find a bandage near the upper right hand side of her face. She felt a dull throb near it but wrenched her brain away to look at the bed where Tim worked on Ron. She felt a burning stab of pain as Tim made the incision. When he noticed that she was awake he tried to inject more sedatives into her system, but nothing worked. He didn't notice the small blue tendril that seemed to connect Kim and Ron.

.  
Ron felt stabbing pain as he watched for what seemed like the hundredth time as Kim dumped him. Zorpox had been tormenting him on and off all day. H had finally reconciled himself to this memory, loving the new insights he had into her behaviour that morning. The true torture was watching his own attempted suicide and the anger in her voice as she admonished him for it. He knew now that if he'd succeeded, she would have joined him shortly after. He'd thought at the time that he'd failed her and that she would be better off without him. Now he was merely reluctant to expose his heart to yet another wound. Why should he allow her to rip it from his chest yet again? He'd dropped the weirdness with the moodulator because he was scared, let her trample him to be with her boy toys Josh and Eric, forgiven her every time she'd hurt him, followed her on her missions even though he was sure his heart would stop every time, and even forgiven her for dumping her, though after he'd learned her reasons for the last one it was placed firmly in the Moodulator category. Still, how many times could he forgive her? Would it really work out in the end? Would she dump him again the next time she thought he was in danger? Or maybe they'd just find out that they really weren't good for each other? Was he really willing to deal with all of that for her?

Zorpox, seeing the familiar thoughts cross his foe's face tried to encourage them. "Of course you know you two will never work out. IF she accepts you back, you'll have to deal with the UN and nearly endless assassins. You'll never survive. You'll be the reason Kim died. Can you deal with that?"

"Kim will never die. If she does the world will pay the price. You know as well as I do what happens when someone threatens someone I love."

Zorpox grinned evilly. "Yes. You will lose it completely and then the world will be destroyed. All I have to do is kill the cheerleader. Booyahahaha!"

Ron smiled. He felt his restraints weaken. He knew that they'd rekindle his love for Kim within moments. His joyful smile contorted into an ugly grimace of pain. He growled.

Zorpox, the new recipient of the self preservation that had previously occupied Ron, felt his reckless abandon trickle away. For the first time as he looked at this monster that he'd created, he felt true and abiding fear. Fear not only of what this man, if that was truly his nature anymore, would do to him, but of death in general. Zorpox literally shook in fear as he realized that all but one of his defining characteristics were now resident in this man. This man was a Zorpox without hate. He merely loved. That had become much more dangerous. Zorpox watched his former prey as his eyes slowly gained the crazed look that had been the trademark of Zorpox. The now sane man looked at the man who he had been tormenting since he'd been given form in the attitudinator incident. He cowered. He felt his hate slowly shift its focus. He no longer hated the rest of humanity. He hated himself. He attempted a weak Booyahaha. He failed. He destroyed his spectral form as he saw the chains that had been binding Ron melt from within.

Ron felt a new and powerful current running through his body. It reminded him of his monkey powers, but it felt different. The monkey powers always acted like a flowing river, swelling and powering him or receding and deserting him. This new power would not recede til he was dead. It was to MMP as water was to fire. This power would always be there, but it might be deadly to use it. He tapped into it. He felt his bonds melting. It seemed that his new powers were similar to fire. He didn't even notice as his tormentor disappeared. "Booyahahahahahaha!"

.  
Kim felt as though her heart was on fire. She could feel every cut on Ron's body, including the ones that were mostly healed, in her mind. She was in so much agony that she didn't even notice the slightly red glow that surrounded Ron and healed every single cut. When she could see again, she noticed that her brothers were cowering at the foot of her bed with Ron standing over them. A small light in his eyes alerted him to the fact that he wasn't completely sane anymore. "Oh, Ron. What did he do to you? We'll get you back to normal. We'll..." She trailed off as she noticed the malevolent red glare emanating from his skin.

"You really think that he could truly hurt me? He didn't do anything to compare with what these two did."

"Tim and Jim were just trying to help you! They didn't mean to hurt you or anything! It was probably an accident!"

"You think they hurt me? The incisions they made were very shallow and couldn't hurt me if left unchecked for a month. They hurt you! And for that they must die!"

Kim tried to understand what he'd just said, but her mind could not reconcile what she'd heard to Ron. It was only as he started to bring the lotus blade down towards them that she managed to jump in front of them. "Ron! You can't hurt my brothers! They love us! You love them! If you ever even talk like this again I'll try to stop you! I'll kill you if I have to. Then I'll have to kill myself. You don't want to be responsible for my death, do you?"

Ron narrowed his eyes at her, before turning to give her brothers a harsh glance. "If you ever hurt your sister again..." He let the threat hang in the still air. Kim went up to him and wrapped her arms around him. He coated her in a blue glow while projecting his own red glow outwards to shield them from any falling debris. He shot through the roof of the secret underground installation, preparing to take Kim far from the world to make it easier to protect her.

A/N: No the change in Ron will not be permanent. I happen to like the change in Zorpox, though. I have some obligations to certain societies that might take a large portion of my time in the upcoming weeks so don't expect too much in the way of updates. I just signed up to help build a BB gun range at a Cub Scout camp, not to mention the fact that I need to make sure that I pass English. Irony sucks.

Shout-outs to CajunBear as always, as well as to xvxAPATHYxvx. Please, people, I'm begging you. Don't compare me to Shakespeare. I'm not that crazy! I promise!

I do understand that my writing can be a bit hard to follow. Bear with me. If you guys are good little readers and review, I might even post what Ron told Kim to freak her out so much.

Anyway, if any one thinks they know where I'm going with the story, please tell me. If I don't happen to agree with you, I might even write another alt chapter, like "The Death of the Mastiff", an alternate Chapter 6. Who knows, you might even know where I'm going with this before I do.

I want to give a bit of a shout-out to my 7th and 8th grade English teacher, Mr. Joe Staebell. If you're reading this, thank you for the creative writing assignments. I think they might have been responsible for all the fun I'm having with this story.

As I've noticed that my life has been upbeat recently, I'm going to keep with the trend and give you some uplifting advice. In the mildly abridged words of J.J. Rowland, "If life gives you lemons, stack up the lemons and climb over the prison wall." WIGU is such an awesome comic. (look at my profile if you are confused)


	9. A Savior Of Another Kind

Kim was concerned. Ron had been acting really strange. He hadn't let her take any risks, but he himself had offered to do anything, regardless of the consequences, to make her fall in love with him. She was kind of glad that he hadn't received the memory chip, yet the bond that the tweebs had told her of seemed to have appeared. Ron would not let her out of his sight unless he was absolutely certain of her safety, which rarely happened, or he needed to do something he deemed 'too dangerous' for her. She was about ready to pull her hair out. Little by little, the insane glow left his eyes, but his overprotective streak remained. Finally she snapped. "Dammit, Ron! I used to save the world! Why can't I take the garbage out?"

"There could have been a sniper on the roof of one of the houses near by." Ron was calm.

"Ron, you know I love you, but you can't do this! If I can't do anything, then I'll go crazy. If you can't deal with letting me do some things, I'll have to leave you."

"I knew that it would come to this eventually."

"What are you talking about? How could you know something that I only just confronted you about?"

"I knew that eventually you would become fed up with this life. It's just the way you are. You can't deal with monotony. You started cheerleading to curb the boredom, so you started helping people. When that got boring you moved on to super villains. When you finally became bored with that, dating. Now you're looking for something else. Well I'm sorry, Kim. I won't let you leave. I'd prefer you hated me to the possibility of losing you."

"What are you talking about, Ron? Ron?" Kim's query merely fell upon deaf ears as Ron turned and slowly walked away.

.  
Zorpox was sitting in the lab of his newest evil lair, his eyes and face moist. He was crying. It wasn't truly accurate to call him Zorpox anymore. He was now an entirely new creature. His hate was falling to low levels. His sanity was entirely intact. His dominant trait was Sadness and Fear. He also had a large portion of aggression, but that had no influence without a driving force, something his self hatred could no longer provide. He had nothing to do, no goals, no aspirations. He was slightly interested in making amends, but the sadness in him could not see the point. He was noticing a drop in the influence of both sadness and hate, and though he wished no ill will upon his opponent any more, he began to feel hope. Hope was an emotion that even the owner of despair could feel. It was powerful. He felt his strength returning. As he noticed his skin tone fade to that of his original, he realized that his self hatred no longer influenced him. He looked at the golden lines connecting him to Ron. Three of the bonds were broken, but the tie of love and hatred was still connected. This worried him as it meant that Ron was losing his hold on love. The new Ron without an anchor was nearly unthinkable. The Zorpox who was no longer actually Zorpox but had yet to reinvent his identity shuddered.

.  
Kim had tried every door and window in the house. None would open. Anything and everything even remotely dangerous had been removed. All of the electrical cords were impossible to get to. There was absolutely nothing that could even give her a paper cut in the entire house. She was trapped like a rat, yet she was self aware. She was bored. Kim had exhausted every source of entertainment in the house. She was reduced to waiting for Ron. All she could do was hope that he would arrive before madness set in. That way she could try to fight him. Maybe if she could best him in combat the house would let her go free. Maybe she'd need to best him in combat to get him to see that she could survive by herself. Maybe he'd gone insane and would need to be taken down. They didn't need another Monkey Fist, after all. Kim resumed the one past time she'd never stop, crying. She felt as if her eyes would never be dry.

.  
Ron felt a pang of sadness from Kim and flew to her side immediately. Insane or not, she always came first.

.  
Kim felt rather than heard Ron open the door. She jumped up and tried to knock him out of the way. Her fist connected with the side of his face, and she saw blood well up from a gash caused when his teeth cut into his cheek. He merely continued typing in the security arming code. After ripping out a tooth and throwing it into a small bin in her room where it was instantly incinerated, Ron turned all of his attentions to Kim. He noticed that she hadn't moved from the spot on the floor where she'd landed after hitting him. Her eyes were glued to the spot where a few specks of blood had fallen onto the floor. Sighing, he went to the kitchen, retrieved a rag, and knelt by the blood. Wiping vigorously, he finally managed to scour the floor to his satisfaction, at which point he took Kim by the hand and led her to her room. Sitting in the chair next to her bed, he couldn't help but notice that she stared at him in a mixture of fear, sorrow, and guilt. "It wasn't your fault Kim. I don't hold anything against you. Hell, at this point you would legally be allowed to kill me, if you were so inclined. I won't do anything to hurt you, so long as I can help it. I'll never hurt you again." Seeing that her wide eyed stare would not recede, he got up. He left.

.  
Kim stared at the pool of blood on the floor. _What have I done?_was the one thought that played on a loop through her mind. She couldn't help but picture what she'd been steeling herself to do to Ron if he wouldn't let her go. She barely noticed as he casually ripped out his own tooth because of the way she'd hit it. She didn't see as he cleaned the floor so it wouldn't stain. Her brain never processed that he'd led her to her room. All she saw was a young blond man lying in an ever expanding pool of blood, his hair and clothes soaked and stained in the thick liquid. She never really slipped into the dream world. She was already in a nightmare. A nightmare in which she had killed the man she loved; a nightmare that made her blood boil and her brain shut down; a nightmare she had made.

.  
Kim woke in the middle of the next afternoon. Her eyes once again told truth. Her brain didn't. When she remembered what she'd "done" the previous evening, though it was merely a figment of her mind, she decided that she would never again leave her room. She was so adamant in her proclamation, even though no sound came from her mouth, that when the fully automated house tried to force her to eat, she attempted to resist. She failed. Yet another way in which she'd failed Ron. His name hurt to think. She 'realized' that she had been responsible for his death directly. She knew she was a murderer. She was scum.

.  
Ron misjudged Kim. From her shock and reaction, he thought that she was merely surprised by his ability to shut out pain or instinct at will. Every motion required conscious thought from him now. No longer would his reflexes endanger Kim. He decided to leave Kim to the care of her house. Seeing him only upset her, and he cared merely for what would make her safe now. His own feelings, wants and needs were a non-factor in any and all considerations he made. He would stay away from her, if only because that would help her. He still cared for her feelings, albeit not nearly as much as he cared for her safety. He admitted that his reasons were selfish, if only to himself, but affection was the basis for his actions. He truly felt that he was doing the right thing.

.  
Kim had not moved from her bed since the morning when she had 'remembered' killing Ron. She was afraid that she might be able to see his corpse from her bed if the view was unobstructed by her door. She could not remember crying this much since the time a month ago when she'd thought she'd lost him forever after finding him. She was worse this time.

.  
Ron slipped into a deep depression three days after Kim hit him. As he did, he noticed that 'Zorpox' was watching the bonds between them. He growled gently to himself and tried to locate the man who'd caused Kim pain.

.  
Kim had long ago decided that if the world ever came to her again with another condition like the one that had made her distance herself from Ron, she would choose Ron over the world. In a way, that was what she was doing now. She was laying in bed, letting her muscles wither and die, because she thought that she had killed him. She would never again give herself that chance. Ron would be the first man she truly loved, the last man she truly loved, the only man she truly loved, and the only man whose life she would ever take. She would prove to him that he was wrong. He didn't need to keep her safe. If she thought it would have helped, he would have sought to rejoin him immediately. However, she believed that suicide would prevent her from attaining entrance to that most hallowed of halls where he had taken up residence. So she merely withered.

.  
Zorpox had finally found a new name for himself. He'd researched the world's super-villains, reading endless stories about every foe Team Possible had ever encountered. At first it was hard to separate the stories made by fans from the factual articles, but he eventually realized that it didn't matter. His first name had come from a comic book, why should his next be any different? This logic wormed its way into his mind, taking up a residence in the small part of his brain that he'd managed to summon to the brighter regions of his conscious mind, his sanity. Soon he began to think about the puns the names of these men seemed to create. Absolutely refusing to use a pun, he simply renamed himself Drew. He didn't assume a last name, though he placed the one his original used upon all the documentation that required it. He even surgically remade his fingerprints, placing this new identifying feature in his file. He hacked into the government's database and soon Drew Stoppable was a Russian-American who had been wrongfully arrested once, had three advanced degrees (chemistry, physics, and philosophy), and had an extremely high security clearance for an average man. He fabricated a past in Lowerton, a mostly deceased family that was very distantly related to Ron's, a full list of charitable deeds, several writing competitions he'd won, and, most impressively to himself, managed to find all of Wade's monitors in the system, easily and elegantly confusing each one. He started to hack into the files of his secure and paranoid double.

.  
Ron Stoppable was completely and utterly baffled. For the first time since he'd defeated the Lorwardians, he was unable to summon the lotus blade. He knew the legend and the lore. He knew the only explanation was that he was no longer pure of heart. If he was perfectly honest with himself, he could not remember the last time he'd thought of himself as such. He merely knew that it had not happened since he'd murdered an entire compound of comparatively helpless enemies and lost Kim's love. "No," he corrected out loud. "I never lost her heart. She's always loved me. She was the only one. Whenever someone else would try to hurt me, Kim would help me through it." Without truly realizing what he was doing, he flew to the place where he'd met Kim; he flew to Hana.

.  
Hana Stoppable knew that she was not like the other kids in her class. She could run faster and farther than any of them. She could jump higher. She had better eyesight and hearing. She could play any game better, longer, harder than anyone else she knew. She knew that she could catch any throw that came even remotely near her. She was popular. She felt like an outsider. She wondered if anyone knew how she felt. _Kim told me stories about the boy she loved and how he was taunted and teased by everyone. She told me how he had stood up for her no matter what. She told me that he would have done anything for her and that he saved her life on many occasions, but everyone in his class was still mean to him. She told me that she hurt him really bad, and she told me that he'd never deserved any of the bad things that had happened to him. She said that because of her he threw his life away and ran to Japan. I wonder if I can ever meet him. I hope I do. If I ever meet him I'm going to tell him to go back to Auntie Kim, 'cause she seemed so sad whenever she talked 'bout him. _Lost as she was within her musings, she hardly noticed as the football sailed through the air towards her. At the last moment, she caught the ball and threw it to another team member. She noticed a man, standing by the fence, watching the game. The man was very familiar, and as she recognized him from the hospital room that her mom and dad had taken her to, her eyes widened. She didn't notice the football that hit her in the back of the head until it had done so, and even after it had, she paid it no mind. She continued to stare at the man who seemed so familiar and yet so strange. His blond hair hung loosely over his head, tossed into every direction. She noticed that his eyes appeared to be the most piercing blue in the world, chilling her bones and energizing her spirit at the same time. It must have been a trick of the light, though, as at the next moment they were the world's most caring and comforting eyes, eyes the color of melted chocolate swirling in a bowl, filling your heart with warmth and comfort, destroying any and all thoughts that caused you pain. Her eyes wandered from the mildly tanned and lightly scarred flesh of his face to the pale and much more severely scarred flesh exposed on his arms and at the collar of his short sleeved shirt. She flinched a little as she noticed that his left hand had been cut from the wrist to the base of each finger, leaving four ugly and twisted scars. His slightly baggy clothing made it difficult, but she made out the muscle that he hid, bulging at certain points of his anatomy, such as his biceps. She decided that this man was more than the hero Kim had described in her stories. This man was a true warrior. He could walk along a battlefield among thousands of other soldiers and strike fear into the heart of every single one, but he could also sit with someone he loved and play a simple board game. She knew that as long as this man was alive she would never need to worry about herself. She understood that this man, who Kim and her parents had told her was her brother, was the man who Kim had always relied on, loved, and, eventually, hurt. She ignored the questions and glares her classmates sent her way. She took a step towards this man, this stranger. Every sound on the playground was silenced in a mere instant. Every child noticed the man standing at the edge of the play area at the same time, except for one who had been devoting all of her attention to him. Some were afraid of this scarred behemoth, some were curious at this unexpected intruder, some were angry that this man had dared interrupt their game, and a small group knew that something truly profound and momentous was happening. A voice from the sea of small children called out, "Hana! We're not supposed to talk to strangers!" The statement was so ridiculous to her that she could not withhold the laughter. "He's no stranger," she finally managed to reply. She took another step towards this man who seemed to be, to her, the world's least graceful angel. "Who is he?" another curious voice piped up. "He's a warrior." Another step towards the man who had once been Kim's boyfriend. "He's a hero." Another step to the world's only living Monkey Master. "He's my brother!" With this last string of three words, a small dam holding back a wellspring of tears broke and a crying Hana Stoppable ran towards the brother she'd never known she'd had. Without quite knowing how, Hana found herself wrapped up in large and unimaginably strong arms. She suddenly felt as if life would never be bad again. Ron failed to notice as two more of the 14 connections between him and the man once known as Zorpox snapped.

Hana Stoppable was extremely happy. She knew that this man truly was her brother, and because of a conversation he'd had with the teacher, he was being allowed to sit in on class. Hana was extremely impressed at how proud he seemed of her, regardless of the activity the class was engaged in. She found herself smiling and laughing more and more frequently as the day progressed. When they went outside for second recess, all of the other kids came over to them and asked them both questions. She noticed that one girl was hanging back, looking thoughtfully at Ron. Hana smiled to herself and then whispered in Ron's ear conspiratorially. Ron briefly gave his sister the largest smile he could manage. "Is there a Susie King* in the crowd here?" He saw a small timid hand slowly rise at the back of the small crowd around him. Ron laughed at her timidness. "You're a lot like Tara, but you've probably heard that before, right?" Susie's eyes shot open. "Well, come on up here." The happiness seeping from every crack and crevice in his body drew the young and timid girl in. As she got close to him in the churning sea of young faces, she smiled and said in a small and barely audible voice, "My sister told me a bunch of stories about you." Ron raised one eyebrow questioningly, and then lifted the small child up onto one of his shoulders, opposite the one Hana sat on. Susie giggled as he ran and jumped, gripping his shoulder tightly. She and Hana, not to mention the rest of the children, were both surprised and delighted when his antics managed to dislodge neither of his passengers. All of them laughed and giggled, running to catch up to the man who was transporting two of their classmates. Soon they were all gathered at a small wooden platform. Ron stopped, tapping his lower lip thoughtfully. He set his passengers down on the wooden platform, and they were quickly joined by the rest of their class. They lost sight of Ron, and every single one of them was surprised when the wooden pallet lifted up into the air, carrying the entire class off of the ground. They all shrieked in pure enjoyment as the wooden platform under them started shooting off towards the classroom. Soon they found that Ron was going to turn this wooden platform into a new toy for them. They acted as if it were Christmas. They all quieted instantly as Ron shone with an electric blue glow. His hair stood upright. He opened his eyes, and they were an ice-cold blue. A small blue fire appeared at his hand. The children watched, transfixed, as he carved the pallet into an amazing series of tunnels and openings formed into an intricate pattern. They saw a small girl defending a small boy appear at the top. One small girl recognized the two people in the statue, Auntie Kim and her brother, as little children. She knew that this scene was the day they had met. This day was the best day her brother could remember. She felt a tear touch the corner of her eye.

After recess, the teacher told Ron that she thought that he and his sister should spend the rest of the day together, and that his parents had agreed. When he asked Hana, she literally started to vibrate with excitement. Ron loved to see his sister like that. He felt as though the world was full of good and that nothing could ever go wrong again. Ron took his young sister to the town proper to get to know her better. He bought ice cream and candy. He took her to see anything a preschooler would want to see. He was impressed by how much his little 'Han' had grown. After telling her about himself and his life, as well as about her earlier years, he encouraged Hana to tell him about herself. By the time she had finished her third story of how brave Kim was, he could not justify keeping her inside anymore. At the end of the next story, he could no longer remember his reasoning. When Hana asked where Kim was, he offered to take her to see Kim.

Ron told Hana to go in and see Kim that he had something to do. Hana happily complied. She really wanted to see Kim. She needed to know how Ron's eyes lit up when he heard her name. She needed to know that he was still the same man.

Drew Stoppable was mildly surprised, in a good way, to find that although Ron was regaining his sanity, his own seemed to still be intact. He felt that due to the lack of behavioral change, this time he might be able to stay sane.

A/N: Thank you all for your continued support. When I checked my email a day after my last posting, I found a number of people who had put my story in their favorites and/or under alerts. I am always loyal to those who began with a story, but I love to see new faces. In particular, Zaratan. The fact that someone who is so accomplished as a member of this site makes me post this. In fact, I meant to wait until the next chap is entirely done, and to post them together, but hey. If I get that much attention, I have to do something to help people review.

Thank you to Robzone, whose suggestion that Hana be angry at Kim stuck in my head. It grew and grew, but because of all the damage to Kim's psyche I don't think she can stand much more from her freinds. ; ) I have no clue at this point if many more of the characters will appear, excepting, of course, Tara and Monique. The next chapter may be a while in coming because I have managed to devote myself to some of my old pastimes. I've recently spent my time working for charities, translating random phrases into either binary or dead languages, reading old fanfics, playing World of Warcraft, and just being all around boring. If any of you want to convince me to stop slacking off and get to work, I started a new toon on Turalyon, a Blood Elf Hunter named Scallar.

Thanks to CajunBear, as always, for your overwhelming faithfulness as a reviewer. Anyone else who would like to bribe me to place their name in every one of my notes, please just leave the money on my doorstep. I'll decide if you're worth it later.

As always,

That creepy guy in the corner,

Sircot


	10. The Innocence of a Child

Hana heard sobbing coming from a room at the top of the stairs. "Kim? Auntie Kim? Where are you?"

"I'm up here, Han. Come in."

Hana raced up the stairs. She barged into the room from which she'd heard her 'aunt's' voice. When she entered she was surprised to see Kim in a bed surrounded by tissues and tears. "Auntie Kim?"

Kim stared at her for what seemed the longest second in her life. She said merely, "I killed him."

Hana had no idea what Kim was talking about. Instead of trying to comprehend what her best friend had just told her, Hana merely said, "I got a ride here from someone that I think you would like to see." Kim merely nodded, as if she didn't really believe her, but Hana went to find Ron anyway.

"She does want to see you, you know."

Kim didn't even look up as the door opened and closed. It wasn't until she heard Ron's voice that she managed to set aside her depression. "Look, Kim, um-"

Ron could no longer speak as he felt two arms compress his throat to the size of a nickel. He gasped and sputtered. She slapped him. "You left me!" Ron was completely confused. "I thought you were dead! I thought that I'd killed you! You left me here alone, and I thought that you were dead." Ron looked at this obviously distraught woman, sympathy evident in his eyes.

"I thought that if you woke up and saw me you would be worse off. I thought that if I left, you would be happier. I didn't mean to hurt you." Ron wrapped his arms around Kim once again.

"Never leave me again. Never again. I love you."

Ron raised her chin, looked directly into her eyes and kissed her. "As long as you want me by your side I will never leave you." As they kissed again, Ron did not notice that another three bonds broke. "We should probably thank our matchmaker."

Kim looked over his shoulder at the doorway. "I guess we should invite her in. C'mon Hana." Kim and Ron broke their embrace momentarily to envelop Hana in a hug. "Thank you."

"Yeah, Han. Thank you. Now, what do you say the three of us go and see if your friend can come over after school?" Kim looked at Ron lovingly.

.  
Zorpox felt more of the links between him and his original dissipate. He laughed for the first time in months, not the disturbed 'Booyahahah,' but a normal laugh that could have come from anyone. It felt good.

.  
Ron, Kim, Tara, Hana, and Susie spent the rest of the day together. They saw a movie, hung out in the mall, and spent their day together. Ron and Kim were happy to find that Tara had done well for herself since high school. She now lived comfortably enough that she could afford to pick her sister up from school each day. She was surprised that Ron had gone into international police work, and when they told her that their decisions had been made independently of each other, she said that it was impossible. Everyone who'd ever met Kim and Ron knew that the only reason Ron did anything was Kim. If Ron was risking his life for the good of humanity, it was a decision made out of a desire to be near Kim in her work. When Tara heard that Ron was a much more powerful opponent than Kim, she could not hold back her laughter. Then she noticed that they were not laughing. She felt fear for a moment as she saw the ice in Ron's eyes, but slowly felt her vital organs restart as his normal warmth crept back into his face in the form of a disarming smile. She knew at that moment that Ron was entirely different from the man that she had fallen in love with in high school. For a moment, it depressed her, but she quickly cast that feeling aside and smiled back. She knew that although he was no longer the same person, this new man could be a much dearer friend to her than Ron had ever been. She felt bad for the thought, but she genuinely thought that, for her at least, his change could be more of an opportunity than a tragedy. She could get to know this new man, a man who might give her the chance that the old one never would have, a chance to become more than a friend. A chance to become what Kim had given up all those years ago.

Tara knew the story. Most of their class did. Some of those who heard about what Kim had done had tried to find Ron, including, surprisingly, Bonnie. Those same students had been disappointed to find that even Wade, Kim's ex tech guru, had no way of tracking Ron. After they'd tracked down Ron's 'chip' to a garbage can in a small Turkish airport. No one had any clues as to his possible location. They searched every Beuno Nacho worldwide, hoping beyond hope that someone might have seen the man who had saved the world from an alien invasion. They'd hoped that Ron would be easy to track after the notoriety of his monumental defeat of evil. Their hopes proved to have no basis in reality.

**Flashback**

Ron had always had trouble with people forgetting his name and face. His foes called him 'The Buffoon' or 'The Sidekick;' to them he had no real name. He seemed to fade into the background. He was defined as the boy who followed Kim around. When he was abandoned by Kim and forced to grow up, he no longer had an identity. His peers could not find him, because they knew him simply as following Kim. Without Kim to guide him, no one had any idea what he would or could do.

For the few humans who had ever seen his true power, the fact that he no longer had an anchor was frightening. Shego and Drew Lipsky, the only people who were both present and conscious for his final defeat of the aliens entirely gave up their villainous exploits. When Ron disappeared, Shego knew that he had gone to the one place no one could find him. She and Drew both traveled to the dojo that she'd studied in for an entire year. Bowing respectively, they calmly awaited the opening of the doors. When Sensei greeted her, she introduced him to Drew. "Sensei, this is Drew Lipsky, my ex-boss and current boyfriend. We wanted to see him."

"I'm not sure if that would be the best idea, Shego. He is in a very fragile mental state. Seeing you two might further damage his mind. You may just remind him of that which he is running from."

Shego stared at the man who had once told her that the only way to overcome fear and self doubt was to confront it. The man who had helped her to mold her own unique identity. The man who had seemingly given up. She told him as much. "He'll never let go of her if you allow him to run. I'm all for him avoiding things that he knows will hurt him, but if he can't face them..."

"I merely meant that due to his current instability, Ron may attack you. I don't want anyone to get hurt here, Sheila."

"1. I told you not to try to keep me safe. 2. If you ever use that name for me ever again, I will get one of my 'friends' to deal with you."

Sensei looked on in amusement as the fuming woman stormed past him into the building where honored guests were lodged.

.  
Ron was entirely confused as to why no one had found him. Both Kim and Wade had knowledge of this location because of the final fight with Monkey Fist. He knew that either of them should be able to find him. He could understand that Wade might be trying to give him some time to himself. He could not, however, reconcile himself to the possibility that Kim would not have gone in search of him yet. She was looking for him in order to apologize. She had to be.

.  
When the light tapping alerted him to the presence of someone at his door, he knew immediately that Kim had come to explain that it was all a misunderstanding. It was all the fault of the moodulators, or maybe she'd been subjected to the attitudinator. Something was making her act like this.

When he opened the door he saw not Kim, but Shego. "Where's Kim?"

Sheila, or Shego as she still insisted on being called, saw the broken look on his face when he asked that horrible question. The only thing that was worse to her was the hope barely hidden behind it. When that question was asked, all of her resolve, all of her drive slowly faded into a crushing and crippling sorrow. "I'm sorry." Shego bowed her head as the question was asked, and Ron knew without a doubt what she was trying to tell him.

"She isn't looking for me, is she? She doesn't care." At those words, Shego's sorrow burst forth from her eyes, as if a floodgate had been opened. Her face moist she noted to herself that Ron's life was unfair. He had always tried to help anyone else, had been as giving as Shego had been selfish, and yet the Princess had crushed his heart while Drew remained faithful. She could not bear to hear the heartrending pain and sadness present in this voice, but the fact that it was completely undeserved was even worse. Until this point she'd managed to hold herself in the neutral zone, wanting to comfort Ron, yet convincing herself that Kim must have had her reasons. Here in this room, however, she found that in her mind nothing could justify the pain that Kim had caused.

.  
In the aftermath of Shego's arrival, Ron left the room that had been supplied to him for the first time since he'd arrived at the supposedly secret ninja school. After they had shared that touching moment in that room, Ron abandoned it. He found three trees growing near to each other and decided that he would sleep there. When he found that one of the ninja students had brought a bed for him to lie on, he placed it atop one of the trees. He knew that it would be hard for him to sleep while his mind was so full of thoughts of betrayal. He decided that his time would be put to better use if he trained and meditated through the night. With this new decision, he found a small patch of grass at the center of his newly claimed home. With a soft blue glow lighting his body, he sat down, closed his eyes, and slowly lifted off the ground.

.  
Rufus awoke to find that his master was no longer near. Squeaking his anger at waking up alone, he set off to find his master. When Ron virtually ignored him, though, he set off to find another human to feed him cheese, rapidly chattering the entire way.

.  
Ron felt sorry that he had ignored Rufus, but he was busy. He could not let his concentration falter. He had to become better, stronger, faster. He needed to become worthy of Kim. He needed to become the man the she'd always wanted, always needed, always deserved. Maybe if he could become worthy of her she would take him back.

Ron collapsed to the ground, crying.

.  
Yori woke early that morning, hopeful and happy due to the changes in the school's guest. Maybe he would be more responsive to her now that he knew that Kim would not come back to him. She struck up a happy whistling tune as she left the compound she was housed in.

.  
Shego woke at a ungodly hour. As she glared at the small squeaking rodent that had disturbed her slumber, the events of the previous day flooded her mind. Shaking the fog from her senses, she hurried to grab the small creature some cheese. As he ate, a worried look took residence upon her face, and she headed out of the complex that she was housed in.

.  
Yori and Shego exited opposite buildings at the same time. For a split second they found themselves staring into each other's eyes. Then they both noticed the man who lay crying on the ground. They both set out to comfort him at the same time. Shego was happy that Ron could count on people other than her at this place. Yori was suspicious and jealous of this new woman.

.  
Ron spent the next day listening to Shego talk about the people he had known and how they were changing now that he was gone. He was upset to learn that Kim had been ostracized. Even Wade had abandoned her when he'd learned of what she'd done to Ron. The twins would not talk to her at all. Even Monique quit her job at Club Banana rather than work with her. The disturbing fact that Kim had seemed to slip into a depression was nothing to the fact that it had only happened after others had abandoned her in the same way as she had abandoned Ron.

In a surprising twist the person the new Kim relied on most was Bonnie. Ron thought this especially odd when he considered that Bonnie had actually seemed not to hate him after the whole graduation thing. She'd always hated Kim, though. If he hadn't been so thoroughly depressed, he would have laughed at the irony.

.  
Kim was worried. No one knew where Ron was. What if he'd...? No. Ron had promised that he'd never again try to take his own life. He had to be alive. Kim felt alone though. She hated that man for what he'd made her do. If she ever saw him again, the remains would not be identifiable.

.  
Bonnie was worried about Kim, as insane as that sounded. Ever since Ron had disappeared, Kim had put on a strong face about all of it. Bonnie knew that it was truly painful for her though. She'd had experience with when Kim did not care about something, and this time she was acting entirely differently. She was genuinely sorry for dumping Ron. Bonnie had no idea what was keeping her from running out into the streets and tearing the world apart looking for him, but it must have been something important. Bonnie hoped that somehow she could help Kim to feel better about the world.

A/N: I think that I'm going to make you find out when the flashback ended. What happened between Ron and Shego? Did something just happen to Ron in real life? Is this some cruel trick to estrange the readers and force them to hate me? Why should anyone care? Why do I love typing to myself so much?

I love to read the names of the countries where people have read and/or continue to read this story. I am extremely satisfied to reveal that I recognized the location of every single country in my traffic page, although I will admit that the abbreviation for the United Arab Emirates had me stumped for a bit.

If you think that you are worthy, review. Otherwise, review. I like reviews.


	11. Threats of the Heart

A/N: Just a renewal of my disclaimer here: I own nothing. Literally. Anything and everything in this story belongs to Disney. Anything in my mind belongs to the mythical creatures who dreamt me up. Independant quotes will have small citations.

.

Ron was having an amazing time with Kim and Tara. Kim didn't seem to want to release his arm, and if he was truly honest with himself, he realized that he loved that feeling more than anything else he'd ever felt. He knew that Tara still nursed a crush on him, but he hoped that the shock of seeing him as so different a person would help her to get over him, especially when coupled with the fact that he had not seen her since their high school graduation, which had been three months before his unexplained disappearance. The thing that worried him the most about this outing was that Tara was treating Kim so coldly. It was almost as if they didn't exist to each other.

Kim was having the most fun she'd had since that horrible mistake she'd made. She was genuinely enjoying herself. It didn't escape her notice that Tara was being extremely cold to her, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She felt her arms wrapped around Ron, and thus, she was content.

Kim knew about the attempts to estrange her by the largest part of her senior class. She did not blame them. How could she? She had chased off the best man who had ever lived, or at least the best any of them would ever come to know. She had truly crushed his heart, if not his soul, at a point when she not only didn't want to, but didn't have to. She'd stabbed him in the heart from behind and twisted as he dealt with the first voluntary murder he'd committed, as he relearned who he was and felt his memories return to him.

She had been appreciative of Bonnie and her friendship, however unexpected it had been, when the woman had finally revealed the jealousy that had burdened her and coerced her into tormenting Ron so much.

Bonnie had found out early in her life that Ron was a much happier person than she and had began her attempts to make him as miserable as her sisters had made her within a month. She failed miserably. Somehow Kim always seemed to help him through whatever troubles he had.

She took out her frustration by attacking Kim. This time it worked. By attacking Kim into making her say and do things she normally would not have done she managed to succeed. That effectively hurt Ron and fulfilled her goal. She became even angrier when that did not make her happy.

She threw her entire being into making those two miserable, yet deep within her she knew that as long as they had each other, they would be fine. When Ron mysteriously disappeared, she became worried. When she heard about the attempted suicide, she nearly tore her hair out in anxiety. When she heard that Kim had caused it all, her heart and mind shattered. So, at a great cost to her social standing, she decided to try to fill a part of the void that had been left. If the world had lost Ron Stoppable, it would have to survive with just Kim Possible.

Kim had attempted to make everyone understand that everything bad Ron had done in the last couple of weeks was entirely her fault. She could not feel happiness when she learned that no one blamed Ron, but she certainly felt relief. If she didn't think that he would follow her, she would have killed herself to spare him pain long before. As it was, she could only attempt to make the world a nicer place until one of her foes finally bested her.

.  
Ron sat in a meditation position, floating three feet from the ground. Shego watched in amazement as he called forth the Lotus Blade, the legendary sword that she had not even seen in an entire year of training. If she had not witnessed the fight between him and the Lorwardians, she would not have been able to believe the stories the ninjas told her.

She glanced about and noticed that the majority of ninja had already left to rest for the night. She wondered why she hadn't noticed. Looking over her shoulder she noticed that Drew was talking animatedly with the man who had been assigned to tutor him. Even knowing that it was only because of Shego, he could not help but feel giddy at the honor.

Shego laughed at his ridiculous attempt at a pose. Turning back to Ron, satisfied that Drew was still amused she thought back on the past couple of weeks. Even though Ron had collapsed out of exhaustion several times, he had yet to sleep for a period of more than 15 minutes. She worried that he still harbored thoughts of returning to Kim, and was entirely surprised that she'd said that last bit out loud.

Ron, having heard Shego's accidental comment, opened his eyes. He noticed her shiver as she gazed into their icy depths. "Entertain those fears no longer. I harbor no remaining feelings towards Kim one way or the other."

Shego gasped at the cold and emotionless tone that accompanied the words that would once have topped her list of "Least Likely Words to Leave Ron Stoppable's Mouth," her hand shooting up reflexively to cover her mouth.

Ron looked coldly at the woman who had brought him that horrid news, before forcing his gaze and emotions to soften. He stood from his stance, slowly descending to the ground.

Shego was crying as she felt the arms envelop her, her tears seeping past eyelids held closed as tightly as she could manage. She didn't know the details, but she promised herself that she would never forgive Princess for this.

.  
Ron, Tara and Kim, not to mention the siblings that accompanied them, were walking towards Tara's home, attempting to give the day a civil end. That attempt failed miserably.

Kim was furious. "How dare you kiss him? Isn't it obvious that we're back together?"

Tara was confused. She hadn't even felt Ron pull away, and now he was standing at least six feet away, holding an obviously pissed Kim back in an impressive bear hug. Finally, latching onto the words that had been shot at her with so much anger and venom, she forced herself to look at the source of this blatant hostility. "At least I didn't rip out his heart."

Tara knew from the looks on their faces that she had crossed the line. The look on Ron's face was worse, but only just so, and considering her attraction to him, that was astonishing.

Kim felt the tears leak out of her eyes, her muscles going limp as she merely convulsed with the power of her sobs. She no longer fought Ron's grip in order to kill Tara. She now fought to escape from Ron, to escape Ron's ever present forgiveness of everything, even those things that were, by all accounts, unforgivable.

Ron was conflicted. Half of him wanted to rip Tara in two for her comment, and half wanted nothing more than to convince Kim that everything was all right. He finally decided that holding Kim close and whispering loving reassurements into her ear while glaring at the woman in front of him was the best option available to him at the moment. He found that his anger waned slightly as he noticed the true sorrow and sympathy in her eyes as she whispered a rushed apology and ran into her house. Her sister and Hana, oblivious to the exchange, hugged. After expressing their wishes to repeat the day's activities in the future, Sarah quickly raced into the house after her sister, giggling something about how the kids at school were going to be so jealous. Ron could not hold back the laugh.

A/N: Before anyone asks, yes reassurements is a neologism. If you can't puzzle out what it means, I'm mildly surprised you've managed to read this far.

I'm sorry about the lack of postings in the last week. Also, I know that this chap is really short, but I figured you guys might like to know a bit more this week.

My next chapter is going to be a bit of a hat tip to Zaratan, but no, no Ron/Bon can be found here. (I tend to think that the love BonBon feels for Ron is unrequited.)

If anyone is still worried at this point, neither Kim nor Ron are murderers, though Ron is a bit fanatical when it comes to the protection of Kim.

Yes, Shego and Drakken/Drew, who now shares his name with another seemingly reformed villain, are together, at least in the flashbacks. Also, I changed Graduation to have Dr. D and not Kim see Ron killing the aliens, making this mildly AU.

No Tara's have been harmed in the making of this story, though I promise nothing for the future. Kim and Ron have safely recovered and are awaiting the next scene warily. Many, many bad guys were harmed. Many, many, many bad guys. = )


	12. Old Friends, New Enemies

Kim felt Ron's laugh at the antics of the two girls. She knew that he didn't blame her for what she'd done, but she still felt that it had been and continued to be all her fault. Tara was, in Kim's mind at least, correct in her statement, however ill placed it had been. She could not cease the incessant chatter within her mind, regardless of how many times she told it that she made Ron happy. It merely kept arguing with her. _How do you know he loves you? How can you know that he isn't with you out of pity? How can you know that he wouldn't be happier with someone else? Someone like Shego, or Bonnie._

Ron was both worried and pissed. He told himself silently that although he would not take his anger out upon her sister, Tara would face as much of his wrath as non-lethally possible. He smiled as he thought of ways to make her pay for hurting Kim. He quickly snapped out of it.

_I cannot allow myself to slip down that slope. It will invariably end with me hurting Kim or myself. We will handle this ourselves, in a manner we both deem fit. _Remembering the look upon Tara's face, the pure contrition painted in a thick and revealing ink across her face, he resolved to find out how the exchange had affected her.

Ron flew his sister home, regardless of the consequences. Most people didn't know he could fly. He meant to keep it that way. After dropping Hana off with his parents, he took off again in search of someone to help with Kim.

Wondering where he was going, he realized that for some reason, Kim was not responding to him and his efforts to calm her down. He angled towards the Possible house before realizing that even Kim had admitted in her letters that they had grown apart. If Kim had acknowledged it to a friend who she had not seen for three years, he knew that their relationship could not have been the best. Searching his mind for any answer, any answer at all, to save him from the task he knew was at hand, he sighed loudly. _I know Kim is worth it, but she's really gonna owe me for this one._ With a new resolve, a softly sobbing woman cradled in his arms, and a posture and attitude like a man walking to his own beheading, he angled his flight towards Bonnie's house.

.  
Bonnie sat as Kim lay, her head in Bonnie's lap, crying about all of the large and small things that plagued her.

"…And I just dumped him right then and there! I didn't even wait for him to regain his memories. I didn't try to explain. And the worst part is that he tried to kill himself because I'd done that. This is the worst thing that I've ever had to do! I almost wish that we'd never met, if only to save him this pain and heartache. And now everyone hates me, and I agree with them, and, and… It's all my fault!"

Bonnie's eyes were wide. Ron had attempted suicide? The "Ron?" He had tried to end his life? No wonder Kim had been like this recently. _She must be tired. I know there's no way that she could have slept in the past couple of days, especially with everyone in town treating her like the new black sheep. I always thought that I would finally be happy if this happened, but here I am, consoling her._ Bonnie only held her new friend as the sobs seemed to renew their fury. The irony did not escape Bonnie that Monique was the one who had caused this latest breakdown.

.  
Bonnie cornered Monique in the halls. "What's your damage? Do you know what happened after you left Kim like that yesterday? I thought you were her best friend!"

"So did I. I guess we were both wrong. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get to class."

"No."

"What did you say? I thought I heard you say no. I think you might just be being too friendly with Possible."

"Monique, I know that what she did was horrible. Hell, if I didn't know that she's been doing a better job than I ever could, I'd knock some sense into her too. But look at her. She's broken. She was broken! She was broken long before you and your little Kim-bashing posse started with your hate campaign.

"She comes over to my house a lot now. D'you want to know what we do? We don't talk about much. She **won't** talk about much. She's been fixated on punishing herself over Ron. She let out a bit of a secret to me the other day. She tried to mimic Ron's last known action. She tried to kill herself. She told me the only reason that she didn't was because she could see Ron, and she **knew** that if she did, he wouldn't be too far behind."

"Well, Bonnie, maybe she should have."

Bonnie was so astounded at that that she failed to respond. She collapsed in shock, her brain no longer functioning correctly. Surely Monique would never have said that. Surely she'd misheard. She stood, her mouth opening and closing rapidly, as she noticed that Monique was walking away, seemingly apathetically.

Monique was glad that Bonnie didn't see the tears that raced down her face.

.  
Ron landed outside of the house he knew the youngest Rockwaller now owned. Pausing only a moment, he used his right hand to hold Kim as his left rapped upon the door three times.

Bonnie wondered who could be at the door. Bustling about her house she made sure everything looked presentable. After all, who wanted to be seen as a slob. Whistling a cheery tune she opened the door. She shut her mouth. She stared at his face for about three seconds, and… she fainted. Ron sighed.

.  
Bonnie awoke to a soft noise, one all too familiar now that she was Kim's friend. She woke to crying. Bonnie instinctively reached out and pulled Kim's face toward herself. She rested Kim's head against her shoulder, and for a moment, she simply sat, holding the woman whose life she had once filled with misery. She decided then that she hated irony.

Bonnie remembered then that she had fainted at the door, though she still could not remember why. She knew that Kim could never have brought her here in her state, so, thinking logically, she turned and looked at the place where Kim had sat, just in time to see Ron stir. "Ron?"

Ron looked at Bonnie, immediately noticing that instead of the normal range of emotions present on Bonnie's face, he saw that she was feeling predominantly anxiety, sorrow, sympathy, confusion, and… fear? Bonnie, Queen Bonnie, was afraid of him? When he noticed the resignation in her eyes and the loving way she caressed Kim's shoulder, he abandoned all thoughts of revenge. "She doesn't know, does she?"

Bonnie started. In a small voice, she whispered merely, "No."

Ron felt a grin form beneath his solemn features. "She won't mind if you tell her."

"It's not just her. I'm bi. I… I think I love both of you."

Ron reeled. Here, a woman who had tormented him for most of the time he had known her had just told him that she thought she was in love with him. He did the only thing he could think to do. He held her and Kim until they were both awake and lucid.

A/N: I originally planned to have this chapter be much longer. Instead, I have decided to post this tonight and post the rest of what would have been this chapter sometime over the weekend. Now if only I could finish writing it.

Remember my comment last chap about unrequited love? It means love that is unreturned. I stand by my statement that Ron and Bon will not hook up in this story, but it is tempting. Maybe for my next story...

When given the choice between fighting in the Roman Coliseum and fighting with a woman, always choose the coliseum. The odds of survival are much better.

Just so you know, that comment is because the few people who have ever truly scared me are female. Please don't kill me!


	13. Confusions

Monique walked towards Kim's new favorite hangout, the janitor's closet. She had in her mind every intention of yelling at the girl for trying to commit suicide. Even if her life had taken a turn for the worse… Monique's inner rant died about as quickly as a Turkey before Thanksgiving when she thought back on Kim and how she had acted in the past few weeks.

.  
"Hi, Monique."

Monique's interest was piqued as the timid and scared tone came from her best friend. "What's up, girl?"

.  
Monique was confused as she saw the scars that Kim was tracing. She noticed then that they said 'Ron-Hater'. For the first time since Ron had left, she actually felt pity for the form on the floor.

.  
Monique stared in horror at the woman who had just told her the single worst thing she'd ever heard. "Just leave. Just leave."

Kim slumped slightly and shuffled out the door.

.  
Monique remembered the times that they had shared. She did not forgive Kim. That much was clear in her mind. Maybe, given enough time, that could change.

.  
Monique stared in horror at the scars her new friends had inflicted on her once-best friend. She turned and ran from what would one day become her second worst memory.

Kim continued to sit, tracing the scars she thought she deserved, and cried over what might have been.

.  
Monique knocked on the door to Bonnie's house. She knew that nowadays, this was the place Kim was most likely to be after school. The door opened. The door closed. Monique knocked again.

"Go away, Monique. She doesn't need this right now. She just stopped crying. You can fuck with her head tomorrow."

"I deserve that. I don't want to fuck with her head anymore, though. I saw the scars."

Bonnie opened the door, keeping a wary eye on Monique. "I had no idea that they'd gone this far. I would have stopped them."

"Which scars?"

"Ron-Hater. They cut Ron-Hater into her arm. Why did she let them do that? Why?"

"She thinks that she deserves it. Weren't you listening earlier? She tried to kill herself. Do you really think that allowing others to torture her is that different?" Monique collapsed into Bonnie, sobbing in contrition, hating herself for what she had done.

.  
Kim awoke to a sound that, unless she was the source, was mildly unusual. Looking to the side she noticed Monique, and that nearly instantly drew her to her guard. Even if she invited torture and punishment, she retained the sense requisite to defend herself from abuse inside her "haven," the one source of comfort left to her.

When Monique failed to start a fight, Kim noticed the trail of tears slowly progressing down her face. She noticed Bonnie holding Monique's shaking form, a testament to the goodwill meant. She noticed the contrition and pain that obviously plagued this young woman. But mostly, Kim noticed the way her fingers happened to trace a certain pattern, one of the ones Kim knew best, upon her own stomach, obviously mimicking the behavior of someone else. Kim's hand reflexively began to trace the scar, her mind immediately wandered to the man who she had crushed, and her heart burned with a pain worse than that of a million words carved into her skin, the pain of two words so carved, the pain of those two words: "Ron-Hater."

Sinking even further into her couch refuge, Kim began to cry with the same fervent passion as her once best friend.

.  
Ron looked at the twin forms on the couch, Kim and Bonnie. He knew that he did not love Bonnie as he loved Kim, but there was attraction there. What guy didn't dream about Bonnie? He didn't even hate her, not after what she'd confessed. He no longer feared her: who can fear someone who has not only professed their love for you, but also broken down within your arms? Ron wondered what emotions she evoked in him.

With a start that almost woke the woman rolled into a ball on Bonnie's lap, Ron cast his gaze towards the way Bonnie's hand, even in sleep, caressed Kim's side. He knew that she had told the truth. He realized that in the void caused by the old emotions, new ones were attempting to form. There was more than a little respect, an adequate amount of trust, and a genuine chemistry between them. He may not be in love with Bonnie, but it was very possible that they could grow to be great friends.

.  
Ron started as he felt a presence near his physical self. He saw, as though from a distance, Shego walk up to his body in an oddly familiar way.

As she ran a hand through his hair, he thought that she was similar to Kim. _No. Not Kim, my mom. She's acting like my mom._

Returning to a corporeal manifestation, he smiled up at her. "Anything I can do for you, Shego?" He fought hard to restrain his tears at the worried face she made.

.  
As Ron stared at the woman who had made his life a living hell for the majority of its duration, he came to the conclusion that any and all transgressions had been or would be forgiven then forgotten.

.  
Bonnie dreamt of a day. In her mind, the world was perfect. Kim had never crushed Ron's soul. Ron and Kim had never fought. They had always been friends, the three of them. They were still in high school. Their biggest worry was whether the cheer squad would go to regionals. But even in her mind, Bonnie knew that she and that pair would never be anything more than friends.

Not that she didn't fantasize. She had naughty dreams about them all of the time, but for some reason, the best dreams didn't involve sex, and they only came when she slept in the same room as Kim.

In her current dream, she was listening to Ron talking about some paper he had to write for his economics class. Their time at Upperton had been fun, but Ron continually whined about this class or the other one. Neither she nor Kim cared. Kim was happy about his essential Ron-ness, Bonnie was just happy he was there.

In real life, Bonnie had spent much of freshman year attempting to break Kim's funk. In sophomore year she started trying to save Kim from the beatings and physical abuse. When Monique started helping, the efforts became even more fruitless as Kim started hiding from them and instigating her tormentor's. Junior year had been one large attempt to get her to drop out. The attempt had succeeded in the form of a job offer from Global Justice. They hoped that Kim might lose her grief in her work. They were wrong.

.  
"Three weeks since Kim started that job and she hasn't been by since. Man that girl can get to me sometimes. Y'know?" Monique and Bonnie were walking up the path to Bonnie's house.

"I know that you don't like it when she ignores you, but look at it this way. If she hasn't come to see us, she hasn't had a breakdown."

"I guess, but it seems a bit too easy to me. I mean, we were talking her through this for three years and they cure her in a month? How good at this can they be?" At Bonnie's look she amended, "OK, so you've been helping her for three years."

Bonnie chuckled. "Let's just hope that her luck continues to hold." She put her key in the door, unlocked it, and turned the knob.

.  
Ron was startled by the knock on his door. "May I come in?" Shego, of course, the only person who would disturb his meditation without a very good reason.

"Sure, but do you mind if I finish my meditation?" Shego entered and grabbed him by the underneath of his armpits.

"Sorry, sir, but I can't do that. No more moping. We're gonna go spar, and then we're gonna go with Yori and Drew for a picnic. And, just in case you were wondering, my real name is Sheila. Sheila Go."

Ron looked to her and gasped. He'd and Wade had tried for a fruitless year to find out about Shego's past. To have her just open up to him was… wow.

"If you ever use that name where anyone can hear you, I will hunt you down and kill you."

"Now there's the Shego we all know and love."

"Now Stoppable, I am engaged. Try to be proper. I can't be convinced to leave Drew for you."

"Engaged! Engaged! And this is how you tell me? What did you tell Drew you'd do in return?"

Shego looked sheepish. "I told him I'd tell you my real name." Ron burst into laughter. "But if I knew it would be this uplifting, I'd have told you a long time ago."

"I'm gonna go make you two an engagement dinner. Make yourself at home."

In a bright flash of blue light, Shego could have sworn she saw a tail, Ron disappeared. Sighing, she sat down on his bed. She decided that the best occupation available to her would be to look around his room.

In a corner of his closet, she found a small steel lock-box. Intrigued, she burned a hole through the padlock. After opening it, she noticed that all it contained was unopened letters. She dug through the pile, and seeing that not one had been sent by Kim, she felt a shot of anger infusing her body. She noticed small and concealed compartment, and, once again bowing to the supreme power of curiosity, opened it. If she hadn't been a ninja-trained master thief, she would never have found it.

Here she found the letters from Kim. All of them. Flipping through with a scrutinous eye, she noted that they were all sent on the 15th of a month, without fail. She opened one.

Dear Ron,

Life goes on. I still miss you, but I know that you don't feel the same. I noticed that the letters always disappear, even if they get left in my room, so I guess that the Yamanouchi ninjas are responsible for this. I just hope that you are actually getting this. I have moved on. My new boyfriend's name is Marc. I think that you would hate him, but then, haven't you always hated the boys I date? I hope that this time you tell Yori that you return the sentiments; I know that she will still be interested.

Sincerely,

Kimberly Anne Possible

As Shego read, she noticed the tear stains on the page and promised herself that she would not forgive Kim easily. _It's only been a year since she crushed him like that, and she thinks that he's already ready to hear about how she's dating some new boy toy?_

A throat clearing alerted her to the presence of another in Ron's room. Turning around, her face flooded by an expression of apology and her eyes pouring forth tears of anger, she met the gaze of the man who had become her closest friend and confidant over the year they'd spent at Yamanouchi. Without thinking about it, she incinerated the letters from Kim. She put the other ones in her jacket pocket.

"You don't need this, Ron. She's only hurting you with these letters. I don't know why she did it, but she deserves to rot for what she's done. You have to know that."

"Shego, if you do anything to hurt Kim, I'll kill Drew. You know I will. You saw what happened to Warhok and Warmonga. I won't show pity or mercy, even to a friend. I think you might be right about the letters though. Would you… Would you read them for me to make sure she doesn't actually need my help? I can't anymore. I just can't."

"Ron. Of course I will, Ron. You know that you'll always be able to ask me for help. Always."

.  
Ron was startled by the knock at the door. He walked to it, careful not to wake the two sleeping women, and peeked through the spy-hole. His heart stopped.

.  
Monique was worried about Kim. They had been supposed to meet at the mall, but Kim had yet to show up. She knew that the most likely thing for her to be doing was crying at Bonnie's house. Otherwise she'd probably been coerced into more work. That was pretty much all she did now anyway.

She stood in front of Bonnie's door, well aware of the feelings Bonnie had for Kim, and not wanting to just walk in, even if she knew that Bonnie would never act on those feelings and that Kim did not feel them.

.  
Monique! Monique was standing at the door, obviously not expecting him. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew that he had to talk to her about what Kim had done.

.  
Bonnie and Monique were being patient, but they felt that they needed answers. They knew that Kim would never voluntarily hurt Ron like that, and they knew that even though Kim admitted to missing him more than ever, she wrote letters to keep him away once a month. They felt they deserved to know why.

"Oh my God! They really did that? They separated the two of you, made him fight a bunch of men, and then set you against someone even stronger than you who forced you to break your relationship off? And when you went back for clues the entire compound was gone without a trace? It was a park?" Bonnie was shocked, but the story meant that there might still be hope for her favorite couple to come together.

Monique was struggling to find words. "You were protecting him? Oh my God. Oh my God, what have I done? What have I done?" As 'what have I done?' became a mantra to her, Bonnie looked over towards her. Bonnie knew that Monique had been appalled at the violent treatment of Kim but had secretly condoned the verbal abuse. She knew that opinion was changed.

Kim was crying, having been cornered and forced to relive that torture, breaking Ron's soul, as well as the physical and mental abuse she'd suffered at the hands of that man, that beast.

.  
Finally finding the strength, Ron opened the door. "Hello, Mon-" he started before one of the tightest hugs he'd ever experienced cut him off.

"You're back. You're back.**"**

A/N: Hi guys. Sorry I failed in my promise to get this to you last weekend, but I tried. It took a long time to write, though I'm not sure why. I do like the way it turned out though. Hopefully you will too.

Yes, it is meant to be confusing at this point. If anyone sends me the chronological order of the paragraphs (as numbers), I will post it at the beginning of the next chapter.


	14. Where's My Tail?

A blond haired man sat within a small circle, his hands at his sides as he gazed upon the chalk, fascinated with the intricate designs, he leant forward to trace the lines and symbols, a flash of red shot forward, and he pulled back his hand as if he'd been burnt. He had. The now burned hand was well again as a spark of blue light traveled to it and made it whole. He gasped. He had not realized that, within this circle, he had no control over his own mystical monkey power. He had certainly never had it manifest as self healing to this extent. Somehow he knew that it no longer belonged to just him. He felt a consciousness, bubbling within his own, made up of pure emotions. It reached his mind and took a corner of the mind as its own. It looked around.

Ron was shocked when his muscles began to move on their own. His head jerked shakily to take one look at the symbols on the floor, and then, just as a monkey's would, a great laugh burst up from his belly. Ron was shocked, he might have laughed a small bit since Kim's betrayal, but he had never before, even in the company of his once best friend, felt this kind of mirth. It was a complete antithesis to his sadness, the exact opposite. When that occurred to Ron, he thought that he must somehow be fueling this new being, and he decided to give it full control.

Instead of fighting to regain the ability to move himself and to find his surroundings, Ron concentrated on all of the emotion he had, his hate for Mankey, Kim, and everyone who had subjugated him in Middleton, his undeniable sadness as he thought about the fiery mane and emerald eyes of his one-time beloved. He filled mind with murderous thoughts of a man who had threatened his life, of the men who had attempted to kill him, at the villains of the world, at the man who had started this, Monkey Fist, and at the man who had captured him.

The new being was confused by these thoughts, but he felt the power this boy was sending to him. He hooted a quick thank you and then used his tail to blur the chalk. Only to find that he did not have a tail. What was this? How could he not have a tail? He had always had a tail! Hooting in frustration he used his feet. He would find out what was wrong with him later.

Ron finally wrested control from the being who he found to be passive and benevolent, if a little curious. Seeing as he was not yet truly evil, merely vengeful, he decided to seek out his new enemies. He faintly heard something in the back of his mind complaining about 'losing my tail,' though to be honest, the voice was not the least bit important to him.

Ron stared down at the former villain before him. It figured Dementor would want to steal him. He cackled viciously. Dementor would never steal another breath, let alone anything important. The voice was horrified.

.

Sheila, or Shego to anyone who did not want to die a long and painful death, was sitting on the wall of Yamanouchi, watching the road Ron had taken out of the school. He was supposed to be returning to the school at noon, but she secretly hoped he would return sooner. She so wanted to ask him for help. Drew had been too worried lately, and as Ron was becoming more like his old self, he might be able to help. He was an expert at 'marinatin' as he put it. Sheila shook her head. No one had ever returned from a mastery retreat so quickly. It was widely believed that no one ever would, for the simple reason that the time limit was imposed as a limit to allow only the most skilled to succeed. She was about to give up when she heard a piercing screech from beyond the walls.

Gazing around, her hand on the bell she was surprised to see a flaming sphere in the sky. "Ron!" She was so startled that she accidentally set off the alarm. He was back. He was back early, and it seemed that he had more than a mastery of his chosen field. It seemed he had perfected it.

The whole of the school of Yamanouchi was gathered in the courtyard, watching in awe as a man who had learned among them landed more powerful than their sensei. In point of fact, Sensei was standing at the front of this group, gaping at the most powerful man since Toshimiru. Surely this man was not the same who had caused so much destruction to the school. Surely this man was some spiritual incarnation of Toshimiru himself. _No,_ he thought, _Father has never been able to manifest his power since he died, this could not be him._

.

Ron glared at his victim. Feeling the horror of his companion only sent him more power, and he flew into a killing frenzy. "How dare you try to steal me, to control my power, to mold me into your weapon? I'm not some sort of machine you can control. And to make sure you never attack me again, you must die."

Dementor soiled himself as a bright flash of gold signaled that his opponent had unlocked another facet of his power. The now horrifying buffoon stood before him, radiating power. Dementor finally understood the firsthand meaning of the term 'foxhole Christian' as he prayed to every god or goddess he believed to be able to take him from this visage of terror.

Ron was surprised as his arm seemed to emit a golden light for a minute before it shot forward from his bicep, taking the form of a sword. He felt his soul, his very essence within the sword and he finally understood the true power of the lotus blade. It was not merely a magical blade; it was the very soul of the single most powerful entity to have ever lived._ Second-most powerful,_ he internally corrected.

As he stood before the quivering mass of flesh before him, he willed the sword into the form of dual katanas, their blades sharp enough to take the hair off his face, all of it, with no problems. He cackled as his swords spun in a wildly turning funnel a storm of blades that seemed to blend the corpse of his one-time captor into a mushy cannibal-smoothie. His body started to glow with an indescribable fury, a red and gold flame bursting into being all over his body. He shot into the air on the way to his new home.

.

Kim watched the news that evening, her eyes puffy and red. She was nearly certain that she saw Ron's face among a massive anomaly, a moving fire that went nearly all of the way around the world to disappear in the mountains of Japan. She was so busy crying that she entirely missed the reporter say that the phenomenon originated in the former-lair of one 'Dr. Dementor,' though she barely caught the fact that Dementor had been brutally murdered and was no longer recognizable.

.

Shego was stunned. How could he have become this powerful, when he had once been the comic relief? How could Kim have done this to him? And, most importantly, what would happen now? For the first time ever, Shego feared what Ron could become.

.

Ron was fascinated with the new entity, as he had taken to calling it. He learned from it the true art of Tai Shing Pek Kwar, the art that few humans had ever been introduced to. The simple reason for this was that few humans had ever had tails. He found that his sword would take that form unless he called to it. He really enjoyed the new training, and he rarely spoke to anyone.

.

Drew was very nervous. Not only was it finally his wedding day, he feared he would soon be caught in a fight between his mother and his bride to be. Not only that, but his best man was one who he had merely called the buffoon for a large portion of their relationship. He was also both powerful and protective. He was not a man to be trifled with, and this was the first time in three years that he had left the hidden ninja school's grounds, other than his brief time as Dementor's captive. Suffice it to say that Drew Lipsky was terrified.

Ron cornered Drew, pulling him into a small room of the beaten track. "Listen Drew, I wanted to wish you good luck. I know that you know and like Sheila, and I hope that you find happiness with her, but know this. If you ever intentionally hurt her, I will hunt you down, and you will wish for Dementor's fate." At this Drew paled considerably. "However, I would hate for that to happen and I know that you will do everything in your power to keep her happy. If that continues to be your goal, I hope we can have a lasting friendship."

The wedding was beautiful, and everything proceeded as planned. However, when the happily wedded couple, and the man who gave the bride away, was the best man, and would take them to their private island for their honeymoon as well as provide security while they were there walked outside, a group of men in black cloaks stopped them. "We are sorry for the inconvenience, but you must die," was their only message, but their attempt could not be a worse idea. Ron's eyes turned into a burning flame within his face, their new intensity scaring the men. They all brought their weapons to bear, and fired at him. He made no attempt to dodge.

When the red haze finally dissipated from Ron, he, Drew, and Sheila were all on the honeymoon island, their attempted assassins were strewn in small pieces all over Moscow, and he was much nearer to death than was comfortable to Drew and Sheila. Luckily for them, small golden flames broke out all over his body and he was soon entirely healed. Unluckily for them, though neither of them would ever complain about it, he then collapsed. Needless to say, their wedding night was not quite as enjoyable as they'd expected.

* * *

A/N: Wow. I don't think I would still be reading this after that long of a wait. I did have a bit of an excuse, but still. I guess the fact that I am an incurable slacker, coupled with the fact that I just got a five-F report card, including English class, should dissuade me from devoting much time to this. Of course, with me, should and will only rarely coincide. This might be it for a while, because I have to study up for AP Stats. I just got a 48% on a practice AP test, and the real one's on May 5, so I should not be able to work for forever.

Does anyone listen to the ramblings of a madman? Ah well, anywho. I won't deny the fact that I've been reading more angsty works than I ever have before. I still like a bit of the romance and stuff, but there's something intoxicating about listening to someone else's problems for once. If anyone who knows me is reading this, I can safely assume that you have no life. If you know me, are reading this, and have a life, I apologise profusely.

Speaking of this story, a bit more intrigue has entered. For those who are utterly confused at this point, I'm sorry. I tend to write in a very roundabout way. I like having a bunch of tiny surprises rather than making one big twist. The twist is still there, but the other little innovations should serve to lessen the blow. I know that I said that I wouldn't tell you guys what Ron told Kim, and I won't, at least not verbatim, but the information is covered in these chapters. There's only one thing that is still hidden from Kim, as opposed to all of you. Mwuahahaha.

Speaking of me, I've been working diligently at everything that I care about, and I'm starting to get pissed at some of the people who have been telling me too study, do my work, take care of my body, sleep, etc. If my body dies its because it can't take the heat. So don't be surprised if I start a bunch of random one-shots, of varying fictions. I'll only take on one big project at a time though, so don't spend too much time cussing me out.

I have made the discovery that flaming kerosene is very painful to the bare skin of my chest.

Is the game of life similar to Russian Roulette?


End file.
